Aston Villa are one of the most successful English teams, though a cursory glance at the Premier League at the moment might show otherwise - they are currently hanging precariously over the drop zone as this is written. Yet, to their credit, the "Villains", as they are known, are one of only five English teams to have won the Champions League by winning the old European Cup in 198182, and have won the First Division Championship and FA Cup 7 times each. The club's last piece of silverware however came in 2001 when they won the Intertoto Cup, and time hasn't been very good to them since then, particularly this season. Paul Lambert's side have shipped an alarming 15 goals in three games - eight of those against Chelsea and a further three and four at the hands of Wigan and Tottenham respectively. These demoralising results have left Villa staring at the prospect of being relegated from the Premier League for the first time. Lambert
spent nearly £23 million last summer on rebuilding the squad after two successive battles against relegation previously, and he might have to do so again in January if he is to stave off the dreaded drop into the Championship. Here are 5 players he could sign to stay up...
5. Julio Cesar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMnXWWBOwYM Julio Cesar made a shock move from Italian giants Inter Milan to Premier League side Queens Park Rangers in August this year, but has only played 11 out of 17 games for the London side so far. He arrived at QPR with a reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in world football having previously been nominated for the 2010 Ballon d'Or and has been capped 64 times by Brazil. That is why it came as such a surprise that he would wish to trade Inter for QPR, and it is probably highly unlikely that he will want to ply his trade in the Championship next season, should QPR lose their battle to stay up. A world class keeper like Cesar could prevent Villa from shipping 15 goals in three games in the future. Source(s):
The Independent