Overdrawn Villa eye Randy's Bucks

Whether a sign of consistency or an indication of mediocrity, Aston Villa have drawn more Premiership games than any other club. Lest anyone care, Saturday's draw against Fulham was their 164th; Arsenal and Chelsea trail in a distant second, some 16 draws adrift. The six most recent have come this season and they are the reason why Villa, though only seventh, are the only unbeaten team in the Premiership.

It can also be attributed to the Martin O'Neill factor. Villa was a club dissolving in rancour as the David O'Leary era reached its bitter end in the depths of 16th place. Now they appear rejuvenated, having rediscovered a long-lost sense of optimism, both among spectators and players. Two of the latter, Juan Pablo Angel and Gareth Barry, had reconciled themselves to a future elsewhere.

Now the Colombian is Villa's top scorer while the newly-appointed captain has most Premiership goals, proving himself equally accomplished in both defence and midfield. Playing with a renewed sense of purpose and showing the capacity of even established players to progress under inspired management, he is a microcosm of Villa; as a result, the 'Barry for England' bandwagon is travelling faster than traffic on the nearby M6.

Nonetheless, wins remain elusive. In back-to-back home games against visitors from London, Tottenham and Fulham have both come away with a point. Villa's failings in the final third, whether Angel's nightmare 90 seconds against Spurs or the entire strike force's impotence on Saturday, are a reason why.

Being hard to beat has always been an essential ingredient of O'Neill's teams. Equally, particularly in his time in England, he has often lacked the wherewithal to sign players of sufficient calibre to be branded match-winners. But the spirit required to get a point each at Arsenal and Chelsea (Villa have a strange habit of drawing against teams from the capital) was engendered remarkably quickly.

That is testament to O'Neill's charisma and presence as well as his organisational skills. With endearing honesty, he has treated managerial orthodoxy with disdain. While injuries have compelled him to use centre backs Olof Mellberg and Liam Ridgewell as makeshift full-backs, he has willingly admitted to playing both Luke Moore and Gabriel Agbonlahor out of position in his favoured formation, 4-3-3.

That said, despite Agbonlahor's stated preference for a central striking role, his raw pace has made him a greater threat on the right flank. Lacking the injured Moore, Villa have no such menace on the left, and have been left unbalanced as a result.

And, despite their solidity in defence and a midfield augmented by the influential Stiliyan Petrov, they have been too ineffective in attack, especially while Milan Baros is yet to regain his full sharpness. In particular, too few goals in open play have been scored by out-and-out forwards (Agbonlahor's two have come when he was deployed on the right).

It suggests the first instalment of new owner Randy Lerner's millions could be earmarked for striking additions (the size of O'Neill's transfer budget remains unknown, but few would complain if it was increased by selling the naming rights to the Doug Ellis Stand).

So far the only outlay - with funds made available in the final days of Ellis' regime - was spent on Petrov. Fellow Celtic alumni Chris Sutton and Didier Agathe have since made the pilgrimage south to rejoin O'Neill, though signing a pair of players who served him valiantly in Scotland was a short-term measure necessitated by a lack of options available to him.

Indeed, O'Neill is currently operating with a smaller squad than O'Leary did, though the latter was forever found bemoaning a lack of players (among other things). But, rather than the personnel on the playing staff, an upbeat tone, a quick wit and a refreshing dose of honesty may be the most significant changes at Villa Park.

There is a difference in the boardroom, too. It would have been unimaginable if the distant octogenarian Ellis had done it, but Lerner is a member of the staff's prediction league, though having joined several weeks late, he is languishing in last place. It may be a small detail, but it matters.

Because for years, Villa have been not so much a sleeping giant as a moaning one, looking on enviously at the exalted status and unimaginable riches of the teams in the top four and the Champions League and believing, by rights, that it should have been them. Now the extent of their complaints is an inability to turn draws into wins.

Making them hard to beat has been O'Neill's first achievement. Turning them into a team with sufficient firepower to ensure wins far outnumber draws and plunge them into contention for a top-four finish is his next challenge. In the short term, however, that Premiership record for draws is set to be extended.

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