Gabby Agbonlahor slams ‘dreadful’ Remi Garde and says Aston Villa players knew they had no chance of staying up as soon as French boss arrived

Gabby Agbonlahor slams ‘dreadful’ Remi Garde and says Aston Villa players knew they had no chance of staying up as soon as French boss arrived

• “We’d had a poor season, but I felt we should’ve kept Tim Sherwood in charge; we went for Remi Garde, who was just dreadful. No one really rated him, he just had this bad aura about him when he came to the club, and it’s like we knew we had no chance once he’d arrived.”
• “For me, though, that first season in the Championship, I felt like I was looking back and shaking my head, thinking about the team we could’ve had if Randy Lerner would’ve given Martin O’Neill a bit more money.”
• “…we were bringing in players from all over the place; the second division in Spain, the second division in France, League Two in England… I’m looking at some of the players coming in – who were all good lads, by the way – and we’re going to the Etihad, and I’m just thinking ‘we’ve got no chance’.”
• “A club like Aston Villa, and a manager like Unai Emery, has to be playing European football every season.”
  “When I think back to when I played for the club, we had three seasons in a row where we got to February and were in the top four. And, to be honest, Martin O’Neill hammered us and told us we were bottling it. And we did.”

Remi Garde was just dreadful… we knew we had no chance of staying up as soon as he arrived

Going down with Aston Villa, I think the main feeling I felt was just shock, really. We’d had a poor season, but I felt we should’ve kept Tim Sherwood in charge; we went for Remi Garde, who was just dreadful. No one really rated him, he just had this bad aura about him when he came to the club, and it’s like we knew we had no chance once he’d arrived. Team morale was lower than ever.

But when that relegation was confirmed, I was just shock. In my head I was having those flashbacks of fighting for the top four just a few years prior. I just couldn’t believe what had happened to this club. But, you look back at all of the players we sold, coupled with the fact Randy Lerner basically ripped up his credit card and decided not to add quality players to the team… you know, the squad we had, ultimately, just wasn’t good enough to stay in the Premier League, and so relegation becomes inevitable.

Paul Lambert did an amazing job during his time, to keep us in the Premier League. We really struggled with the quality of players we were signing. I stayed at the club because I wanted to help get them back in the Premier League. The first season in the Championship was a bit of a shock to the system for all of us, though. All of a sudden you’re going “ooh, what’s this? Two games a week? We’re not used to this!” You know, and so it’s really difficult to get over that in the very first season and come straight back up. It’s a tough division, there was some quality players in there, and some great teams, some really difficult places to go.

For me, though, that first season in the Championship, I felt like I was looking back and shaking my head, thinking about the team we could’ve had if Randy Lerner would’ve given Martin O’Neill a bit more money. Martin could’ve built a much better squad, but he didn’t have that option, and so he left the day before the season started.

An American owner came into the club in 2006 and maybe saw it as an exciting investment, but he quickly realised ‘oh, football clubs don’t really make money; they lose millions every year’. And I think he had his own personal problems, too. And then that billionaire starts looking at the money he’s losing, and realises it’s not as fun as perhaps he thought it was going to be. So then he starts selling players to sort his books out, and that meant we were bringing in players from all over the place; the second division in Spain, the second division in France, League Two in England… I’m looking at some of the players coming in – who were all good lads, by the way – and we’re going to the Etihad, and I’m just thinking ‘we’ve got no chance’. The difference between the players I used to play with, and the ones I ended up with… you know, the inevitable always felt like it was going to happen.

Gareth Barry exit was catalyst for Villa’s inevitable relegation

I was devastated to see my teammates leave, every summer. Season after season, I just knew that our plans of getting into the top four were never going to happen. It started with Gareth Barry, and then it just went on and on, and ultimately the problem was that Villa just couldn’t match the likes of Man City in terms of salaries. We’re talking whatever you were getting at Villa, City were offering you double to sign for them. As soon as Barry went, the rest just felt inevitable, like it was a matter of a time before they all moved on. And that’s what happened, and every season we were getting weaker. Then, after we sold Christian Benteke, we found ourselves in a position where we ended up going down. And that’s what happens if you’re a selling football club; look at Southampton… think about some of the players they had over the years, who they sold on, and eventually they end up in a position where they can’t cope in the Premier League.

But these owners are different. We’re talking about billionaire owners who don’t need to sell to keep the club afloat. Jack Grealish only left because he had a release clause, otherwise he wouldn’t have left; they wouldn’t have sold him. These current players don’t have those release clauses now, and they’re playing under a manager who is used to winning big trophies. He’s a top manager, the club are in a healthy position financially, players are earning similar amounts to what you’d see at the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man United. Villa pay big, big bucks, and the club is going places. They’re fourth in the Premier League. There’s a clear project in place there, and because of that, I’d say there’s no reason that any of those players would want to leave. And that’s a completely different position to be in than the Aston Villa of old.

The only way I could see a big player leaving right now, is because of Financial Fair Play rules. You know, a lot of teams will look at the situation at, say, Everton, and the points deduction they faced, and they might look to sell a big player just to help clear their books. But that’s not just something for Aston Villa to have to think about; that goes for any team in the Premier League.

None of the major news outlets want Villa to be in the top four…

A lot of Aston Villa fans moan about this, and I think they’re right to, to be fair… when it comes to the major news outlets, it feels like none of them want Aston Villa to be up there, in and around the top four. When Manchester United win to go five points behind us, everyone is talking about how Manchester United are going to finish in the top four. When they show the league table, they show the top three in the title race, and they leave Villa out. Yet, if Man United were in fourth place, they’d include them in the running.

Aston Villa know that people won’t want them upsetting the applecart and finishing in the top four, but that has to be the goal. Look, whenever I’m on media duty, I’ll always play it down and talk about how top seven and a Europa Conference League win would be a fantastic season for Villa. And don’t get me wrong, I think it would be. But when you’re in the position they’re currently in, with 13 or 14 games to go, and you’re in and around the top four… why shouldn’t that be the goal? Why shouldn’t they keep going for it?

You know, you’ve got an exceptional manager in Unai Emery who is competing right up there going toe-to-toe with the best in the league, despite a massive injury list. People don’t realise that. Tyrone Mings has been out since the start of the season, the same with Emi Buendia. They’ve now got to deal with Boubacar Kamara being out for the rest of the season now. Ezri Konsa is injured, Diego Carlos is injured, Jhon Duran is injured… Aston Villa have got a huge injury list, and still, they’re putting in top, top performances.

To me, if I’m being a realist, I think that us concentrating really hard on the Conference League might affect us a bit in the league. But I think that the aim should be to win the Conference League, and if you don’t, then the aim is to be finishing as high as possible in the league, to guarantee more European football.

Villa have to be playing in Europe

A club like Aston Villa, and a manager like Unai Emery, has to be playing European football every season.

When I think back to when I played for the club, we had three seasons in a row where we got to February and were in the top four. And, to be honest, Martin O’Neill hammered us and told us we were bottling it. And we did. We finished sixth, three years in a row. We should’ve finished fourth.

It’s interesting to see where the club is at right now, compared to how things were run when I was a player. When I was there, under the old ownership, we were always considered a selling club. We lost so many of our best players, every single year. You know, James Milner, Gareth Barry, Christian Benteke, Stewart Downing, Ashley Young, Fabian Delph… we lost so many of our best players, season after season. And being a player still at the club at the time, it was frustrating to see.