The fabulous reincarnation of Fabian Delph

Delph’s woes continued under Gerard Houllier when he broke down with an injury against Manchester City early in the season. Alex McLeish then arrived in the summer of 2011 and Delph was keen to enjoy an injury-free campaign,“It has been up and down for me since I joined Villa, but I’ve stayed positive and I think I’ve got stronger mentally,” the midfielder said.

Delph has had a renaissance of sorts under manager Paul Lambert

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Delph looked rusty on his return to action under McLeish, and Villa fans feared that a yellow card was never too far away as the 21-year-old midfielder continued to make impetuous and rash challenges. McLeish had praised Chris Herd early in the season who he saw as a dynamic option in midfield and it was clear that McLeish didn’t fully trust Delph. McLeish eventually decided to loan Delph to Leeds after the player had fallen down the pecking order in central midfield behind Herd, Clark and even Heskey. Delph joined Leeds in the January transfer window after only 10 Premier League appearances under McLeish.

Paul Lambert therefore inherited a dejected and football-starved Fabian Delph in the summer of 2012, and many Villa fans were uncertain whether the player still had a future at the club. The rehabilitation of Fabian Delph under Lambert began languidly as Aston Villa made a dire start to the 2012-13 season where Delph featured intermittently.

Paul Lambert began experimenting with the central midfield positions soon after he arrived at the club in order to find the best combination. Delph (19 appearances), Herd (9 appearances), Westwood (28 appearances), Bannan (18 appearances), Holman (16 appearances), Ireland (9 appearances) and Karim El Ahmadi (12 appearances) were all given the opportunity to impress, before the manager settled on a more regular combination of Ashley Westwood and either Delph or Bannan (and later Yacouba Sylla).

Delph did not convince his many doubters in early matches under Lambert, particularly after a stale performance against Norwich where Villa drew 1–1 at home. Delph looked stiff, one-footed and unable to move the ball forward. In addition, the midfielder seemed reluctant to make any runs or break through the lines. Fans wondered whether the exciting box-to-box midfielder who Villa had bought from Leeds would ever regain his joie de vivre.

Barry Bannan then kept Delph out of the Villa team in a spirited 1-1 away draw at Newcastle United which lifted Villa out of the relegation places. Delph was forced to bide his time as Bannan continued to play well against Swansea in Villa’s 2–0 home win. Paul Lambert then suffered a humiliating away defeat to Southampton, where Villa lost 4 -1 to the newly promoted team. With a League Cup game next on the horizon, Lambert was able to give Delph and the other Villa substitutes a chance to play as Villa travelled away to Manchester City. Surprisingly, Villa emerged with a 4–2 victory in which Delph impressed along with Gabby.

Delph’s performance against Manchester City in a close 1–0 league loss marked a personal turning point in his season. He was dominant, authoritative, bossy and passed the ball well. Lambert was quick to praise the youngster after the match, “He is playing extremely well. His level of performance in games is extremely high.”

Villa fans didn’t really see the real Fabian Delph however until around February 2013 when Lambert began playing a 4-3-3 formation with Sylla tasked to sit behind Delph and Westwood. Delph started looking like a £8m player again as he tackled, passed and barked out orders from Villa’s midfield. Sylla’s inclusion allowed Delph to drive the team forward, and Delph’s former inhibition as a defensive midfielder was replaced by a more daring and confident performance as a box-to-box midfielder.

Statistically, Delph retained the best pass success rate out of any Aston Villa player during the 2012-13 season with an 88% success rate, which was 33rd in the Premier League rankings below Michael Carrick. In addition, out of all the players in the Premier League who had attempted 20 dribbles, Delph had the best success rate with 85%. The midfielder certainly dazzled in the second half of the 2012-13 season and his performances in the 2013-14 season have, so far, been even better.

Fabian Delph is now looking like a £30m player rather than a £8m player as he has emerged from three matches against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool with considerable credit. At the age of 23, there is a lot more to expect from him, such as increasing his attempts on goal and gaining composure in the final third of the pitch, and whilst Delph is now making interceptions, dribbles, and controlling the midfield, what really impressed me against Liverpool was his close control and calmness when surrounded by opponents. The young midfielder adeptly managed to twist and turn away from Liverpool players and start attacks for Villa whilst drawing opponents out of position. It was the sort of thing I expect to see from top class players like Sergio Busquets rather than Fabian Delph.

Against Chelsea, the youngster was imperious. He had the most successful dribbles – 3, recovered most balls – 9, made the most interceptions – 4, and also made the most successful tackles – 5. Delph’s scintillating start to the season continued against Liverpool where he collected the most interceptions – 6 and had the most passes in the final third – 14.

It’s fair to say that Delph was man of the match in the games against Liverpool and Chelsea and should the young midfielder continue his early season form then Villa have a top player in the making.