Aston Villa: Gabby Agbonlahor forgives the boo boys

Nov 27 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail

Gabriel Agbonlahor

Aston Villa rejuvenated top scorer Gabby Agbonlahor takes on Tottenham tomorrow refusing to dwell on the reminder of his lowest hour in claret and blue.

Villa’s previous match against Spurs – March’s depressing 2-1 defeat at Villa Park – was marred when small sections of the Holte End turned on Agbonlahor.

Martin O’Neill’s decision to substitute the out-of-form frontman in the midst of his long goal drought was greeted with ironic cheers from his critics back then.

But fast forward eight months and Agbonlahor has completed the transition from zero to hero and currently leads Villa’s scoring charts with seven goals.

Agbonlahor, a boyhood Villa fan, understands the supporters’ frustration and has adopted a forgive and forget approach which he hopes is mutual.

“Fans always have expectations,” said Agbonlahor.

“You don’t mind fans saying what they think. They have that right. They pay good money to come to watch us.

“I scored goals in spurts last season and the season before.

‘‘I seem to score three or four and then go 20 games without scoring.

“The main thing is to keep contributing to the team even when I am not scoring. I have seven so far.”

Agbonlahor found the net only once in 23 games in his lean spell during the second half of last season after regularly being asked to lead the line alone in a 4-5-1 system.

But there were five separate scorers in Villa’s last home victory against Bolton earlier this month and Agbonlahor is glad that his team-mates are now sharing the goals burden.

“It is not just me, – a lot of the players are working for the team and there are also a lot of players still with a lot to prove like myself,” added Agbonlahor.

“I just want to work hard for the team and help them move up the league.

“John Carew, James Milner and Ashley Young are all scoring goals now and it is good that the goals are spread out around the team.’’