Olof Mellberg makes his final appearance for Villa tomorrow in the belief he is leaving behind the best team he’s played for in his seven years at the club.
After 262 appearances in claret and blue, the 30-year-old Swede bows out knowing there has rarely been more hope for the future than there is now.
The statistics back him up – Villa’s tally of 69 goals is their best since they won the title in 1981 (from fewer games), and if they better the results of Blackburn and Portsmouth they will equal their best finish (sixth) since 1996-97.
“Villa have some very good players,” said Mellberg. “We’ve talked all season about young players and how well they’re doing.
“But they’ve been key players for us – this is the best we’ve been going forwards for many seasons. We’ve scored so many goals and really looked a threat going forwards.
“Big John Carew has done really well for us as well. It’s a really exciting team with the potential to do really well. It’s difficult to compare this team to when I first came here because it’s different.
“Back when I signed for Villa we had a really strong team with a lot of experienced big-name players.
“We had a really good side, a really good mix of young and older players.
“I was the youngest and I learned a lot from Peter Schmeichel, David Ginola, Paul Merson, Ian Taylor, Dion Dublin, Steve Staunton, Steve Stone, Alpay Ozalan, Hassan Kachloul and Moustapha Hadji.
“We had Gareth Barry at the back but he wasn’t really in the team all the time.”
While the side John Gregory assembled was a vastly experienced one which was quickly dismantled, the current Villa squad are a much younger outfit which is still emerging.
“A lot of those players they bought were coming towards the end of their careers,” admitted Mellberg. “Quite a few of them stopped playing or took a step down.
“So to say it was a much better team, I don’t know. It’s difficult to say. It was different. Every season Villa tried to strengthen. I don’t think the club lost too many players they didn’t want to lose.
“After the older ones left, we then had a lot of young players come through and had a much younger squad.
“I really enjoyed my start here because we were top of the league after 10 games, we won the InterToto Cup and it was a good start for me.”
Mellberg admits that while the players have changed, the aims remain very much the same for Villa. “Back then we were looking at those fifth and sixth spots just behind the big four,” he said.
“Then John Gregory left. Martin O’Neill is my fourth manager and whenever a manager leaves there are big changes.
“They want their players and backroom staff.
“They have their own way of working.
“Some changes are for the good, and some are not so good. That’s how it goes.”
Looking at tomorrow’s game, Villa can only thank themselves they haven’t had to deal with the crippling list of casualties that has hit the Hammers.
No fewer than 12 senior players are absent through injury, with defenders Matthew Upson, Daniel Gabbidon, James Collins, Calum Davenport and Jonathan Spector, midfielders Freddie Ljungbjerg, Julien Faubert, Kieron Dyer, Lee Bowyer, Nigel Quashie and Matthew Etherington, and striker Craig Bellamy all sidelined.
By contrast, Villa have the smallest squad in the Premier League and the side virtually picks itself.
Wilfred Bouma and Martin Laursen will complete ever-present seasons, while Scott Carson, Gareth Barry, Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor have only missed one game. Only Curtis Davies and Craig Gardner are out injured.
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