Martin O'Neill's Christmas Miracle  

Arguably, the over-performers of the season so far have been Hull. But with victory on Boxing day against Arsenal, Aston Villa would open up a six point gap over the Gooners and, even if Man United win their two games in hand, Villa would still only be 4 points behind the Champions, and firmly ensconced in a Champion's League spot. Whether they can beat Arsenal is another matter, but it's entirely possible, with the Gooners missing their almost talismanic captain, Fabregas, out for four months with a knee injury.

The Good

A quick look at Villa's lineup for their most recent game, against West Ham, where they one by an admittedly lucky goal, but dominated, shows us why they're so impressive.

Friedel, Cuellar (Reo-Coker 58), Davies, Laursen, Luke Young, Petrov, Milner, Sidwell, Barry, Ashley Young, Agbonlahor.
Subs Not Used: Guzan, Harewood, Delfouneso, Knight, Shorey, Gardner.

With the exception of Friedel, Guzan, Laursen, Petrov and Cuellar, they are all English, and most importantly, with the exception of Garath Barry, still young, most likely short of their prime. I have for a long time been an exponent of putting Agbonlahor and Ashley Young in the international side, and if recent signs are anything to go by, Fabio Capello may be starting to agree with me. The advantage of this combination, as opposed to, say, Joe Cole and Owen, or Lennon and Dean Ashton (when he returns from injury) is that the Villa duo play together week-in week-out and have a great understanding, along with a proven goal-scoring record. Agbonlahor has already scored 9 goals in 18 league games this season, after 11 goals in the entire campaign last time out.

The Bad

Villa's main problem is lack of strength in depth. This is what separates most clubs in the Premiership from the Big Four, and was demonstrated painfully against Hamburg in the UEFA Cup. There were extenuating circumstances, as Villa had already qualified, but they were comprehensively outplayed by Martin Jol's Germans, with few players coming out with credit, save their newest youngster, Nathan Delfouneso, who will hopefully get a run-out in the Premiership soon, maybe against West Brom on January 10th.

Beyond the first team, therefore, Villa lack the ability to keep up with the big boys, which means they cannot afford many injuries at all. The transfer window looms, but Villa are unlikely to have vast funds to splash on strengthening their squad, though offloading the ineffectual Marlon Harewood might do some good, possibly in a swap deal with his former club, West Ham, for Craig Bellamy. Bellamy is probably the most over-rated player in the Premiership at the moment, but he's certainly better than Harewood, and would fit in well with Villa's style, as well as adding a bit more experience to an undeniably young team. West Ham are likely to cash in on Bellamy while they can, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Bellamy move, as long as they can find a replacement.

The Ugly

The fixture list is piling up for Villa. They're lucky to not have suffered the same fate as Fulham and Wigan at the hands of Man United in having their match cancelled, but they've qualified for the last 32 of the UEFA Cup, which will include a long trip to Moscow to play CSKA. Neither leg of that tie will be easy games, and Villa have not proved themselves in Europe yet.

In a blog called Joga Bonito, people might be wondering why, exactly, we're talking about Aston Villa - hardly a glamorous club. On their day, however, the pace they have front creates some beautiful flowing movement, and with Carew still injured, they have little other choice - route one simply doesn't work when your only striker is 5'11" and is not renowned for his strength.

If Villa can stay consistent, and avoid injuries, once they get Carew back fit and on form, they can be a formidable proposition. All they really need is a good run of consistent form and they could well snatch a Champion's League spot. Over the new year they have a very favourable run of fixtures, after Arsenal, they face Hull, West Brom, Sunderland, Pompey, Wigan and Blackburn, six teams they could well beat, and will be looking for at least 12 points from.

Of course, if they do reach the Champion's League, it's hard to see them standing up there with teams like Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid...