From Gregg Evans in The Athletic:
Aston Villa (2007-08)
(4-4-2); Carson; Mellberg, Knight, Laursen, Bouma; Reo-Coker, Petrov, Barry, Young; Agbonlahor, Carew
Used 9 times
Tight at the back with pace in attack. This was the team, managed by Martin O’Neill, that started Aston Villa’s initial push for Champions League football. So good that when this lot lined up together for the first six of their nine outings, they smashed every opponent from pillar to post, scoring a whopping 24 goals (yes, that’s an average of four a game) and conceded just two. Bitter rivals Birmingham City were beaten twice. Of course, Gabby Agbonlahor scored in both.
John Carew and Martin Laursen also had a whole lot of fun latching onto deliveries from Ashley Young, while the back four were solid throughout. Squad rotation was rare under O’Neill, so much so that the longer-serving players were going to buy a racehorse and name it “Same Team Same Subs”.
With a little fine-tuning, this team was ready to rock the Premier League. Sadly Gareth Barry left, and Martin Laursen and Wilfred Bouma both sustained injuries that ended their Villa careers and their replacements weren’t as reliable.
