Fulham 2 Aston Villa 1

Martin O’Neill arguably placed himself on collision course with Villa fans for the first time last week, writes Tim Nash.

At first glance, the sale of Gary Cahill for £5m at a time when Curtis Davies is at such a tender stage in his development brought O’Neill’s decision under close scrutiny yesterday.

Reformed “pub player” Davies admitted errors for both Fulham goals after probably the most disappointing Premier League display Villa have produced this season.

But the defender’s continued refreshingly honest appraisal of his performance won’t stop fans’ questioning the manager’s lack of transfer market activity.

Scaremongering? Possibly. After all, the most popular Villa boss for this Millennium has led the club to sixth place with a third of the season left.

Few, if any fans would put money on them being just three points off the Champions League at this stage of the campaign.

Diligent management from O’Neill has seen five players called up for the England squad, a testament to the way players such as Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young have progressed in an environment carefully constructed by the manager.

But all of a sudden you get the impression some of the excuses open to him are no longer options.

Read the full report in the Express & Star.

Fulham 2 Aston Villa 1

Martin O’Neill arguably placed himself on collision course with Villa fans for the first time last week, writes Tim Nash.

At first glance, the sale of Gary Cahill for £5m at a time when Curtis Davies is at such a tender stage in his development brought O’Neill’s decision under close scrutiny yesterday.

Reformed “pub player” Davies admitted errors for both Fulham goals after probably the most disappointing Premier League display Villa have produced this season.

But the defender’s continued refreshingly honest appraisal of his performance won’t stop fans’ questioning the manager’s lack of transfer market activity.

Scaremongering? Possibly. After all, the most popular Villa boss for this Millennium has led the club to sixth place with a third of the season left.

Few, if any fans would put money on them being just three points off the Champions League at this stage of the campaign.

Diligent management from O’Neill has seen five players called up for the England squad, a testament to the way players such as Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young have progressed in an environment carefully constructed by the manager.

But all of a sudden you get the impression some of the excuses open to him are no longer options.

O’Neill went into the last three-and-a-half months of the season with no improvement in the size of his squad, a group he has often claimed is the smallest in the Premier League.

Yet he has presumably chosen not to add to the numbers at the expense of quality which the Villa public can only hope will be available in the summer.

On one hand, his stance at putting team spirit before smashing the wage structure is admirable.

On the other, it means he rules himself out of attracting a certain bracket of players, Lassina Diarra an example who O’Neill admitted was too expensive.

Was Jermain Defoe, who like Diarra has also joined Portsmouth, another? We probably won’t know unless O’Neill chooses to reveal otherwise.

But you sense pure mathematics won’t satisfy a Villa public who can see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Aching to see their team challenge at the top again, they are desperate for the momentum to avoid running short because of a failed signing or two this winter.

And of course, there’s nothing like a poor result to get the natives restless and looking for something to blame.

Yesterday at Craven Cottage, Villa’s miserable travelling run in London – they are without a win in the capital since March 2004 – rarely looked like being troubled.

Villa came under the cosh as early as the third minute, after Stiliyan Petrov was harshly judged to have fouled Clint Dempsey.

Jimmy Bullard gave a taster to the main talking point with a curling, 22-yard free-kick that was deflected just over the bar.

But the decision, lucky though it was in Fulham’s favour, merely acted as a precursor to what was to follow as Fulham dominated the first 20-odd minutes.

Danny Murphy drew a falling save from keeper Scott Carson from 25 yards and Dempsey saw a twisting header hacked away near the line by Wilfred Bouma.

Villa were left chasing shadows as Fulham made their extra man in midfield count.

In fact, the visitors barely registered their presence in Fulham’s half of the field until Shaun Maloney had their first effort on goal in the 32nd minute.

But Maloney skied well over after beating Chris Baird and then repeated the disappointment when he tried to lob Antti Niemi after a poor clearance by Baird.

In between, though, Villa were given their sternest warning yet as Simon Davies fired straight at Carson after being put briefly in the clear by Erik Nevland’s pass.

If the half had gone badly for Villa, it was about to get worse when Gabriel Agbonlahor went down in first-half injury-time.

Sustained

The club’s seven-goal top scorer was victim of a late challenge by Simon Davies, who lunged in shin-high to poleaxe him, although it was the hamstring strain sustained as he sped away from his pursuer that caused his exit.

After leaving the field for treatment, Agbonlahor returned during the half-time break with physio Stuart Walker to give it another go, but couldn’t continue.

It was a sad end to the game for Agbonlahor, who had had a quiet afternoon anyway but must now be anxiously wondering whether he will be able to continue his ever-present record.

Villa’s worries weren’t confined to one of England’s newest recruits, however, as they toiled away against a resilient Fulham side who played far more football than their perilous position would have you think.

The impish Dempsey headed wide as O’Neill’s side struggled to get going in the second half.

But the visitors found an unlikely ally from an old friend as they took the lead in the 69th minute.

Aaron Hughes, one of three right-backs who left the club in the summer, stuck out a foot to divert Olof Mellberg’s flick from Maloney’s corner into the net and do something he never managed in 64 senior games in claret and blue – score for Villa.

That sparked Villa’s best spell and they should have scored again when Martin Laursen blazed Maloney’s corner over from close range.

Within 60 seconds, Fulham were deservedly level when Simon Davies got ahead of his namesake Curtis to volley home Bullard’s curling cross at the near post.

Maloney, who was always Villa’s best route to goal on a day when the team missed the pace of the suspended Ashley Young, saw a free-kick palmed away in another rare visitors’ attack.

It was the only on-target effort from a Villa player all game.

But after Brede Hangland toe-poked straight at Carson, a piece of lunacy by Davies led to the winner.

The on-loan Albion defender’s rush of blood in lunging straight through former Baggies team-mate Diomansy Kamara gave Bullard the perfect chance for a free-kick winner from 25 yards that Carson will also be disappointed with.

There was no way back for Villa, who face injury concerns over Davies and Agbonlahor.

More for the doubters to mull over. But O’Neill expects better and is convinced his judgement will pay off.

Three points against Newcastle next weekend will be the perfect response.