John Carew believes Aston Villa will be better equipped to seize any chance to break into the top four of the Barclays Premier League next season.
Villa held a six-point lead over fifth-placed Arsenal at the beginning of March and seemed destined to clinch a Champions League spot for the first time. But a dramatic dip in form meant they eventually finished sixth, although it was sufficient to guarantee a place in the revamped Europa League for the 2009-2010 campaign.
And Carew, who finished as Villa's leading scorer with 15 goals, believes the squad will benefit from this season's experiences, and said: "It is a very important season for Aston Villa next season and I think we will be better equipped. Overall I think we have improved this season and the players here are getting better and better."
He added: "What will happen in terms of the squad? I don't know, but with the team we have I think we will get better each year.
"We are learning each season and, if we find ourselves in the same position we did this year, fighting for the top four, I think we will handle it even better."
Carew believes Villa will benefit from having a bigger squad as they challenge for honours on more than a couple of fronts.
He said: "Is the squad big enough? For the amount of games we have played this season I think it is okay.
"If you are going for four competitions, the more good players we have the better - but it's not up to me."
Carew missed the middle third of the campaign with a back problem but would have been happy to carry on playing.
He said: "I feel my peak form was starting to come. Of course, I wish the season was a month or two longer. But I will train over the summer and I will be ready for next season. Let's hope we can then get off to a flying start."
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As long as Sidwell isn't in the starting line up come August we should have a good season!I know their's very little on which to base that feeling, i just don't like Sidwell!
As a lifetime Villa fan I think that the end result of last season was of course a disappointment when we got so close to breaking the top four but as a whole we made progress.
However as Ask Me has wisely said Rome wasn't built in a day.
Much credit to MON for sticking to his guns and continuing to believe in the team and inspire the lads through a rough patch. Barry may have moved on but as long as we work to strengthen our squad (most importantly our back four) over the summer we will continue to see success in England and in Europe. This means filling the huge void left by the retirement of Martin Laursen.
It also means going after some fresh new talent to give us the depth we lacked that caused the famous mishap in Moscow and burn out factor at the end of the season. It doesn't mean we have to sign the most expensive players or biggest names, we just need the depth to compete. I heard they are looking at some Russian youngsters and this would make sense considering that market is relatively cheap and there are some talented kids out there.
Middlesbrough's German defender Robert Huth is on the market with a 4 million price tag. Barca's Alexander Hleb is also reportedly on MON's radar although Hleb's agent is denying he wants out of Barcelona. Micah Richards looks to be available for $5 million.
West Brom defender Jonas Olsson is on the market and keen to return to the Premiership.
Time to flex the old wallet Randy, we need defenders and subs like the Toon Army needs a tissue. Up the Villa!!!!!
Up The Villa, U-P-T-H-E-V-I-L-L-A!!!
Barry barry dirty hairy left this club for more than money, lied to fans about his ambition, seems to be drinking camels concoction....
Villa's got one of the most exciting and prospecting teams in England, with one of the best managers in England who has shown that he can be capable of leading Villa to a European spot with limited budget (as compared to Man C) and Villa still have LOADS of youngsters waiting in the wings to push through, becoming regular players... The future is bright for Villa.
Bang on mate! Rome was'nt built in a day! MON will be our Alex Ferguson, he is very clever really. Lets not forget that prior to MON's arrival we were flirting with relegation, what we've seen recently is good steady progress. We've just qualified for Europe for 2nd season running (ok not champions league but still!) AND matched last seasons 6th place finish. All this achieved with the smallest squad in the league!!!!! I really hope we see a good number of quality additions this summer, however, i wont expect champions league just yet! Maintenance is the key so next season i'll be happy with 5th and a good run in the cups!
Well said tuscanvillan. Up the Villa!
Well said John! Villa have an abundance of young (mainly English) talent, that will only be strengthened through the experience of last season. Even without Barry and if no one else comes in the team will be stronger. I'm sure we will strengthen all over the park and the likes of Milner,Young, Davies, Agbonlahor, Gardener will only be stronger next season and with even moretalent coming through from the youth team, we are building in a right way.
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