Aston Villa have seen plenty of players coming and leaving over the past few years, but we have never actually taken a chance to look and see where they are now or what they have achieved since leaving Aston Villa. In this article I will be looking at some players who have departed Aston Villa in the season of 2010/11, 5 years ago.
Wilfred Bouma
Wilfred Bouma was adored by Villa fans, he was a very solid left-back but haunted with injuries during his stay at Villa. He arrived at the club in 2005 and left on a free transfer to PSV in 2010. Bouma played for 3 years at PSV and during his time he made 102 appearances for PSV and scored 6 goals in all competitions. He played his best football during his first two years for PSV before making a less appearances in the season of 2012-13. During his stay with PSV Bouma won the KNVB Cup in 2012 and the Johan Crujiff Shield which is the Dutch equivalent of the Community Shield. Bouma retired from football in 2013.
Marlon Harewood
Harewood was an odd signing for Aston Villa, arriving at the club in 2007 for £4 million, Harewood went on to to make 30 appearances for Villa over the course of the 2007-08 and 2008-09 season scoring a total of 7 goals for the club. Harewood was considered a flop and was often unhappy with his lack of game time. Harewoods best football came off the bench where he was labelled a ‘super-sub’ by Martin O’Neil during his first season. But didn’t achieve more than that. Since leaving the club in 2010 on a free-transfer to Blackpool, Harewood has moved around a fair bit. Since moving to Blackpool, Harewood has played for another 7 clubs! Including a stint in China. His transfers include: Blackpool, Guangzhou R&F, Nottingham Forest, Barnsley, Bristol City and Hartlepool. Today he plays for National League North side Nuneaton Town. Harewood’s best football since leaving Aston Villa is arguably for Blackpool where he scored 5 goals in 11 appearances for Blackpool.
Nicky Shorey:
Nicky Shorey was an exciting acquisition for Aston Villa, he played very well for Reading at left-back, but unfortunately he was unable to replicate that form for Aston Villa. Arriving at Aston Villa in 2008, he was brought in as a replacement for the injured Bouma. Shorey made a number of defensive mistakes for Villa and lost his place to Luke Young, who moved from the right-hand side of defense to the left. That alone defines Shorey’s stay with Villa. Departing to West Brom for roughly £1.26 million. Since leaving Villa, Shorey has moved to Reading, Bristol City, Portsmouth and Shorey is currently playing football at Pune City in India. Shorey’s best football was at West Brom where he made 57 appearances for West Brom. But it’s fair to say, that Shorey has never recaptured his Reading form.
James Milner:
What a player James Milner was for Aston Villa. Milner arrived to Aston Villa for a second stint, in 2008. Milner was immense for Villa as he played in central midfield. His best season was in 2009-10 where Milner made 49 appearances that season and scored 12 goals. Milner arrived for £12 million and left for Man. City for £26 million, which included Stephen Ireland. Since then he played for Man. City for 5 years making a total of 202 appearances scoring 18 goals. Some say Milner got better at City, I say otherwise. Milner was often played outwide and made plenty of substitute appearances. I firmly believe that his best position is still in the centre of midfield, and during his 5 years at City, he still scored 18 goals, one less than during his 3 year stay with Aston Villa! Today Milner plays for Liverpool, where has he plays with former Villian Benteke. Milner has so far made 14 appearances, scoring 1 goal that goal was against Aston Villa ironically. Still from all the players from this list, Milner has made the most out of his career since leaving Aston Villa. But in at the same time, he was one of Villa’s best players.
Do you think we can get Bouma out of retirement??!! Legend and much needed right now. I don’t even want to begin comapring him to our current LB’s (bar Amavi who looks the part)
Interesting piece but did you have to include Milner! Oh the woe!!!
Interesting.
Both Harewood and Shorey were MON signings [technically so was Milner, but he’d already played for us on loan and was about to sign for us under DOL the following season until Newcastle pulled the plug on that deal as the player was driving down to VP!] – and both were considered ‘odd’ at the time, as well as being over-priced.
Just shows that first impressions are sometimes spot-on; neither of them impressed even remotely at Villa, and their subsequent career paths confirm that they were simply not much use anywhere else either!
It is a significant fact, one we ought to keep quiet, that very few players who were first team regulars at VP leave and get better at their new club. Arguably James Milner is the most recent, IMO he improved at City, though I see you disagree – he certainly was not a first choice player that often at City but he proved many times that he ought to have been.
Before him? Well Cahill improved but was not a first team regular, so it would be Peter Crouch, whose all round game got better once he left us. Too soon to comment about Benteke, Barry maintained his Villa form at City but did not improve. Most of the others declined, even Dwight Yorke.
Since the Premier league started how many of the players who thought they were moving up on leaving VP, got to Spaghetti Junction and joined the Southbound lane of the M6? Very few.
Steve Davis at Southampton was another MON balls up.
I’m bored! Noticed that Karen Brady and Shabby are both listed by bookies for being first Lord Mayor of Brum. Wonder what the criteria might be?