Fabian Delph has come a long way since his arrival at Villa Park five years ago. I’m going to look at how he has gone from a Villa outcast to a key player on the verge of being an England international.
Thae £6 million fee that Martin O’Neill paid to Leeds for Delph in 2009 has never looked better value, with news this week that we are willing to pay £2 million more for Tom Cleverley. However, that £6 million hasn’t always looked like money well spent during Delph’s Villa career.
The central midfielder arrived at Aston Villa with a reputation for being a strong tackler who could pick a pass. In addition, he had a great shot on him, which was why the Leeds United fans eulogised about the English teenager who had just left them for a relatively hefty fee.
Delph joined a Villa side that included the likes of James Milner, Stewart Downing and Ashley Young; the future of this team seemed exciting.
However, during his first season with Villa Delph found playing time difficult to come by, with more experienced midfielders such as Nigel Reo-Coker and Steve Sidwell being preferred alongside Milner in central midfield. Delph hovered around the squad all season, featuring as a substitute on occasion and often being included in the cup line-ups; in fact, Delph scored his first Aston Villa goal in the FA Cup third round game against Brighton and Hove Albion in January 2010.
The worst injury in Delph’s career followed in April 2010. It was confirmed as a cruciate ligament injury that would set back his career nine months.
Delph did return the following season and played as a makeshift left back at times under Gerard Houllier. The French manager also offered him an improved four-year deal so he was clearly impressed by Delph as a player.
Another manager came in the following season after Houllier’s health scare forced him to leave his role. This was the most controversial appointment ever made at Aston Vila Football Club – the appointment of Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish. Fabian Delph’s opinions on the Scottish manager is likely to be similar to those of the majority of fans who sat through that season of misery; Delph was loaned back to Leeds in January 2012 and it appeared to be the end of the midfielder’s time at Aston Villa as far as McLeish was concerned.
McLeish was sacked and Delph returned to Villa. Paul Lambert came in with a philosophy favouring youthful talent and the midfielder who had been an outcast became a regular starter in the heart of the Aston Villa midfield. He was incredibly frustrating to watch at first as he would give the ball away far too often but he grew into the role with confidence.
A fantastic season and a half followed for Delph – Villa’s ‘player of the season’ in 2013-14 – and he has started this campaign well too. Some would say that he was unlucky not to get an international call-up before now but it has been thoroughly deserved. England manager Roy Hodgson said he’s ‘watched Delph for a while’ and felt that he ‘had a fantastic season last year’. I just hope he can play as well at international level as he has done for Villa. Make the most of this chance, Fabian!
