For Cleverley, the grass at Villa Park might be just a little greener
Article by Luke Heyes
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Will the real Tom Cleverley please stand up?
I think he already has!
Two goals in as many games and fans are starting to see the real potential of Tom Cleverley. The result against Man City was painful to take but the silver lining of the black cloud that hung over the team’s energetic, composed performance was emphatically spearheaded by first club goals for Cleverley and Sanchez. Both players have had efficacious seasons but it is the former who seems to have sparked to life at the right time. And after a string of excellent performances in the sweaty, adrenaline pumped engine room, it was great to see Cleverley’s name on the score sheet. The statistics are now starting to prove the doubters wrong and Aston Villa Football Club certainly now have at their disposal, midfielders who are capable of scoring.
It’s been affirmed that Sherwood is a great admirer of the midfielder who has recently risen from the depths of harsh criticism. A player who seemed to serve no real purpose under Lambert with a future at the club no further than the end of the campaign, it appears likely that binding Cleverley to a permanent contract will now be up there with retaining the likes of Benteke and Vlaar. But will this be straightforward? It should be. Of all the media-hyped suitors that appear to want the signature of Cleverley, Everton seem to be the only real plausible club; Villa’s only genuine competition.
From Cleverley’s point of view you can see the appeal. Everton are a club often compared to Villa in their heavily English rooted footballing ethics and history; a team who on paper every year, should really be challenging for European football. Sherwood himself has often said it is Everton and Southampton who should be our stimulus for striving to play good counter-attacking football, picking up desirable point tallies and making gradual progress into the upper echelons of the league table. On recent performances though, it seems we need to look no further than the changing rooms.
Saturday was a game where Tom Cleverley had a real point to prove. Sustaining the robust quality of his previous performances and keeping the interest of Everton and Martinez very much alive would have been high-priority and his sublime finish and box to box work-rate would unquestionably have ticked all the boxes. And what a finish it was. Granted, the through ball from Bacuna was magnificent but the quick feet of Cleverley; his first touch taking him to the right of the post and giving him the space and movement to wrap his foot around the ball and smash it into the roof of the net past Howard. It was a spine-tingling celebration for all the fans and hopefully an indication of more to follow. Thank Tim Sherwood for his resurgence and contemplate the notion that for Cleverley, maybe the grass at Villa Park right now is much greener.
Tom Cleverley will play a massive role in the FA Cup final against Arsenal and if Villa manage to convince him to stay, I feel we will have a player for the future.
© e-Football 2015 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Football
Follow e-Football on Twitter!
Will the real Tom Cleverley please stand up?
I think he already has!
Two goals in as many games and fans are starting to see the real potential of Tom Cleverley. The result against Man City was painful to take but the silver lining of the black cloud that hung over the team’s energetic, composed performance was emphatically spearheaded by first club goals for Cleverley and Sanchez. Both players have had efficacious seasons but it is the former who seems to have sparked to life at the right time. And after a string of excellent performances in the sweaty, adrenaline pumped engine room, it was great to see Cleverley’s name on the score sheet. The statistics are now starting to prove the doubters wrong and Aston Villa Football Club certainly now have at their disposal, midfielders who are capable of scoring.
It’s been affirmed that Sherwood is a great admirer of the midfielder who has recently risen from the depths of harsh criticism. A player who seemed to serve no real purpose under Lambert with a future at the club no further than the end of the campaign, it appears likely that binding Cleverley to a permanent contract will now be up there with retaining the likes of Benteke and Vlaar. But will this be straightforward? It should be. Of all the media-hyped suitors that appear to want the signature of Cleverley, Everton seem to be the only real plausible club; Villa’s only genuine competition.
From Cleverley’s point of view you can see the appeal. Everton are a club often compared to Villa in their heavily English rooted footballing ethics and history; a team who on paper every year, should really be challenging for European football. Sherwood himself has often said it is Everton and Southampton who should be our stimulus for striving to play good counter-attacking football, picking up desirable point tallies and making gradual progress into the upper echelons of the league table. On recent performances though, it seems we need to look no further than the changing rooms.
Saturday was a game where Tom Cleverley had a real point to prove. Sustaining the robust quality of his previous performances and keeping the interest of Everton and Martinez very much alive would have been high-priority and his sublime finish and box to box work-rate would unquestionably have ticked all the boxes. And what a finish it was. Granted, the through ball from Bacuna was magnificent but the quick feet of Cleverley; his first touch taking him to the right of the post and giving him the space and movement to wrap his foot around the ball and smash it into the roof of the net past Howard. It was a spine-tingling celebration for all the fans and hopefully an indication of more to follow. Thank Tim Sherwood for his resurgence and contemplate the notion that for Cleverley, maybe the grass at Villa Park right now is much greener.
Tom Cleverley will play a massive role in the FA Cup final against Arsenal and if Villa manage to convince him to stay, I feel we will have a player for the future.
© e-Football 2015 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Football
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