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Aston Villas relegation was confirmed when they lost 1-0 at Manchester United on Saturday, but the Premier League obituary could have been written in December, and drafted years ago. It was seven years ago last week that Villas new-found success under the ownership of Randy Lerner showed its first signs of falling apart at the seams. Then-manager Martin ONeill, criticised for playing a second-string side in Villas UEFA Cup round-of-32 second leg at CSKA Moscow, hosted a dinner in front of the 295 fans who had travelled to Russia to see a 2-0 defeat, justifying his decision to all but give up on the tie with the score at 1-1 on aggregate. Aston Villa brought a third-string side to CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup A three-course dinner was washed down by five drink vouchers at a reported cost of £15,000 to the club, a thank you and sorry to the fans as they reminisced with ONeill and others about past European success.The evening was more or less viewed positively, but the damage had been done weeks before. Ask Villa fans where it started to go wrong as they taste relegation for the first time in Premier League history, and many will point to the final months of the 2008/09 season.It was Villas first appearance at this stage of European competition for 11 years, and the decision not to take the likes of James Milner, Ashley Young, Gareth Barry, Stiliyan Petrov and Gabriel Agbonlahor to Moscow left a sour taste in fans mouths. But the story is more complex than one result.A win over Stoke at Villa Park three days after the Moscow tie would have stretched their fourth-place lead over Arsenal to eight points with 11 games remaining. It was a must-win for ONeill to justify the selection in Russia, but Villa threw away a two-goal lead, conceding twice in the final three minutes. The Villa Park crowd have seen only two home wins in the league this season The players and fans were deflated, and Villa went on to take just 10 points out of a possible 33 in the Premier League, finishing 10 points behind Arsenal in sixth. But to fully understand the impact of the swing-and-miss 2008/09 season, Villa fans will take you back to the start of Lerners tenure two years previous.It is my belief and the basis for my bid that Aston Villa can compete at the highest level within the Premiership and in Europe, said Lerner after the Americans £62.6m takeover from Doug Ellis in 2006.The Holte End sang USA, USA during the good days, and kept faith in ONeill and Lerner during the bad. The owner even had the Villa crest tattooed on his ankle, and a new £8m training ground was built to improve the clubs academy. Randy Lerner ploughed millions into the club, but pulled the plug on spending when Villa missed out on the top four Villa were once again an attractive option, but they initially spent modestly, signing John Carew, Petrov and Young before an 11th-place finish in ONeills first season in 2006/07. Proud history, bright future was the motto on free scarves handed out on the final home game of the season, and that claim was correct for the short term at least.They finished sixth in 2007/08, and the foundations were there for the fourth-place push Lerner had promised. He opened his wallet further, and as spending went up, so did expectation.ONeills transfer pool didnt stretch further than the UK as Villa spent nearly £50m in the summer of 2008. Milner (£12m), Curtis Davies (£8m), Carlos Cuellar (£7.8m), Steven Sidwell (£5m), Luke Young (£5m), Nicky Shorey (£4m), Emile Heskey (£3.5m) and Brad Friedel (£2.5m) arrived, while only £3m went out of the door. The fees and wages spent would come back to hurt the club. Martin ONeill was in charge at Villa until 2010, leaving five days before the start of the season Villa recovered from their 2008/09 disappointment to threaten again in 2009/10, and continued to spend in the market. Another £40m worth of talent came in, but the result was similar; a sixth-place finish as Villa lost in the League Cup final and FA Cup semi-final.Barry started a worrying trend by leaving Villa in the summer of 2009 for Manchester City, whose spending left ONeill, Lerner and co trailing behind.Lerners media appearances were few and far between, but he was quick to assure fans that both ONeill and star player Milner were going nowhere despite strong rumours of unrest. Eric Black reflects on Aston Villas relegation, which was sealed with a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United on Saturday I am not worried about losing James Milner, he said in May 2010, before adding: Martin will be back next year managing. It has already been settled.Milner was soon to follow Barry out of the door to City, after a long-running transfer saga which left ONeill frustrated. The Northern Irishman wanted another go at fourth-place to match Citys spending, but Lerner had one hand on the plugs chain and spending was halted.Villa had yet to make a senior summer signing when ONeill shocked everyone by leaving the club five days before the start of the 2010/11 season, and despite his replacement Gerard Houllier showing glimpses of a promising project, he left at the end of the season with health issues after a ninth-place finish. Villas 2008/09 season saw them challenging for a top-four spot Lerner and the boards decision-making was then heavily criticised as Villa appointed Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish, despite the spray-painted bed sheets and protests from supporters pleading with the club not to appoint the man who relegated their bitter rivals from three miles down the road.A new approach to transfers followed as Villas books were splattered in red. Young and Stewart Downing left, and the transfer policy was made clear to McLeish from day one.Lerner and the board simply asked if we could reduce the wages to get to a certain level but remain competitive within the league, McLeish told Sky Sports. I knew right away it was going to be a tough task. Alex McLeish was brought in to reduce the wage bill Villa survived, just, in 16th place, and after a final day defeat at Paul Lamberts Norwich, the travelling support were calling for the man in the opposition dugout to save them.McLeish was sacked, Lambert arrived, but it merely delayed the inevitable. His first transfer window was promising, bringing in Christian Benteke, Ron Vlaar and Ashley Westwood, among others, for £25m. Benteke was a masterstroke, and his goals, along with the rise and rise of Fabian Delph, kept Villa in the Premier League for two more seasons.I have come to know well that fates are fickle in the business of English football, and I feel that I have pushed mine well past the limit, said Lerner in May 2014 upon announcing the club was up for sale.Fans felt Lerner had outstayed his welcome, but the club continued to outstay theirs in the Premier League as Villa remained unsold. Tim Sherwood kept Villa up and got them to an FA Cup final, but was sacked in the autumn They were heading for relegation last February before Lambert was replaced by Tim Sherwood, whose short-term invigoration saved the club and led them to an FA Cup final.Villa failed to turn up against Arsenal at Wembley, and the current campaign was played out in similar fashion.It needs investment, Lambert had pleaded 12 months earlier, but Villa had to sell to buy. Benteke and Delph left for £40m, 11 senior players arrived for over £50m, but never gelled.Sherwood was sacked, and Frenchman Remi Garde was chosen as the sacrificial lamb when managers with survival and Premier League experience seemed a brighter option. Remi Garde was sacked in March after winning just two Premier League games He failed to make a team out of the misfits, and Jamie Carraghers comments after Villas 6-0 defeat by Liverpool in February summed it up.I always think when teams go down theres always two or three players where other managers in the Premier League will try and take them.I cant imagine one Premier League manager looking at that team and thinking theres one player there hed want to take into his squad. Thats how poor they are.That brings us to today. A relegation that has been five years in the making sees the Premier League lose one of their seven ever-present clubs. Villa must now rebuild in the Championship, but no new manager has been appointed Fans will have a glimmer of hope that stability upstairs can aid a clean restart and rebuild after some staffing shake-ups in recent months, but the current squad needs an injection of intelligence, fight and second-tier experience. That goes for the new manager, too.The feeling around Villa Park is that fans have been starved of a team to support for the last nine months. Fans are struggling to identify with current players, and affiliation more or less stops at the club crest.That crest was altered last week, the word Prepared removed for a new design. Preparation for the Championship starts now as fans pray for a team they can love once again. Aston Villa supporters hold protesting banners during their dismal 2015/16 campaign Comprar Zapatillas Nike Rebajas . 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The Czech player was a finalist here two years ago and captured back-to-back doubles titles in 2012 and last year.The Chicago Blackhawks will try to sweep a two-game tour of Ontario when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs in Saturdays battle at Air Canada Centre. The Blackhawks won for the second time in three games on Thursday, picking up a shootout victory over the Ottawa Senators to kick off a brief road trip. Patrick Sharp scored in the third round of the shootout to give Chicago the 5-4 victory in Canadas capital city. Sharp was the final skater of the shootout and he made it count as he faked to the forehand and roofed the puck over Craig Anderson for the win. Its always nice to get a win on the road in a tough place like this, said Sharp. Jonathan Toews scored twice while Kris Versteeg and Marian Hossa each posted a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks. Hossa recorded his 1,000th career point in the victory, becoming the 80th NHL player to reach the milestone. Scott Darling made 28 saves for the win in his third straight start, but with No. 1 netminder Corey Crawford due to return from an upper-body injury tonight, the rookie was reassigned to the clubs AHL affiliate in Rockford on Friday. Darling went 2-1-0 with a 1.98 goals against average during his first foray into the NHL, but, for now at least, it appears head coach Joel Quenneville is content to keep Antti Raanta in the clubs backup role. Crawford is expected to start tonight, while Raanta should get the call in Sundays home tilt versus Winnipeg. The Blackhawks, who are 2-2-0 on the road this season, have dominated Toronto in recent years although the Maple Leafs did post a 7-3 rout when the clubs last met on Dec. 14 of last season at ACC. Chicago had won the previouss eight encounters overall between the clubs and had claimed four straight in Toronto.dddddddddddd The Maple Leafs, however, enter Saturday having won two straight and three of their last four games. Toronto notched a 4-0 home victory against Buffalo on Tuesday and posted a 4-1 decision Friday evening in Columbus. Phil Kessel and Daniel Winnik both had a goal and two assists, leading the Maple Leafs to the easy win over the Blue Jackets. Kessel, who leads Toronto with 13 points, has recorded four goals and four assists over his last four games and he already has five multi-point games this season. David Clarkson and Nazem Kadri also scored, and Jonathan Bernier made 28 saves for the Maple Leafs. Were feeling good, but the season is full of peaks and valleys, said Winnik, who played in his 500th career game. The Maple Leafs announced before the game that forward Joffrey Lupul will be sidelined indefinitely with a broken bone in his right hand. The oft-injured Lupul has two goals and one assist in nine games this season. James Reimer is likely to start in net tonight for Toronto. His only career appearance against the Blackhawks was on March 5, 2011, when Reimer surrendered five goals in a 5-3 loss. The Maple Leafs recalled centre Sam Carrick from their AHL-affiliate Toronto Marlies on Saturday and the 22-year-old will play in his first NHL game this evening. Carrick was a fifth-round draft pick by the Leafs in 2010 out of the OHLs Brampton Battalion. In 62 games with the Marlies last season, the Markham, Ontario native had 14 goals and 21 assists. He has a lone assist through seven AHL games this season. ' ' '