In recent years, Aston Villa haven’t had the best luck with ex-West Bromwich Albion players and staff. Let’s take a look back at those who have struggled to cross the West Midlands divide.
Roberto Di Matteo
In 2009, Roberto Di Matteo became the Head Coach of Championship side West Bromwich Albion. The Italian guided the Baggies to promotion in his first season with a side featuring the likes of Youssuf Mulumbu and Gonzalo Jara. Di Matteo’s team got off to a flying start in the Premier League; including a memorable win away at Arsenal. However, Albion suffered a drastic downturn in form and Di Matteo was replaced by Roy Hodgson in February of 2011.
Di Matteo only lasted 124 days in charge of Aston Villa after being appointed by Dr Tony Xia in the summer. The ex-Chelsea boss could only manage one win in eleven league games despite a complete summer overhaul of the playing squad.
Steve Clarke
Clarke’s story is very similar to Di Matteo’s. After a wonderful start to life at the Hawthorns – most notably taking West Brom to a record high 8th place finish – his sides’ form trailed off and Clarke was sacked in 2013. Many pundits thought his sacking was harsh but Clarke never recovered from his sides’ slump in form which was compounded by losing the goals of Romelu Lukaku.
Following a spell with Reading, Clarke joined Aston Villa as assistant manager to Di Matteo. Even with his vast experience as an assistant for Jose Mourinho and his recent experience of Championship football; he couldn’t help halt Aston Villa’s disappointng start to the campaign. Clarke is now in temporary charge of the club until a new manager is appointed.
Joleon Lescott
When Lescott signed for West Brom it was considered a massive coup for Alan Irvine’s side. Lescott went on to win plaudits in his first season and was named ‘Supporters’ Player of the Year’. In the summer of 2015, the arrival of Jonny Evans at the Hawthorns allowed Lescott to make the move to his boyhood club Aston Villa.
It wasn’t to be a fairy-tale ending for Lescott as his form took a considerable dive at the Villa. His lacklustre performances in a struggling Villa side made him the target for criticism. A tweet sent out by Lescott following Villa’s 6-0 defeat to Liverpool only intensified the fans animosity towards him. The ex-Baggies man symbolised everything that went wrong with Aston Villa’s season: poor recruitment; terrible performances; disconnect between the fans and players; and an unprofessional attitude on and off the field.
Curtis Davies
This recent trend began with Curtis Davies back in 2008. After West Brom were relegated to the Championship, Davies handed in a transfer request and eventually got his move to Aston Villa for £9m. The defender never lived up to his billing at Villa Park and was eventually sold to Birmingham City. The Davies sale to Villa turned out to be a great piece of business of West Brom.
Kieran Richardson
Richardson secured a place in the hearts’ of Albion fans with his performances during the ‘Great Escape’ season of 2004/5. The ex-Manchester United man will not be as fondly remembered by Villa fans. Richardson signed in 2014 but never nailed down a position in the Villa side. He was part of the side that was relegated last season and was booed towards the end of the season before being released in the summer.
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