Return toVilla really floats George’s Boat
GEORGE Boateng reckons things haven’t been so exciting at Villa for 20 years – and hopes the club can regain its crown as Midlands’ No.1 in the near future.
The former midfielder, who spent three years at Villa between 1999 and 2002, is assisting new Under-18s coach Richard Beale on a daily basis at Bodymoor Heath and is thoroughly enjoying being back in familiar surroundings.
Having previously done a spot of scouting work during Steve Bruce’s tenure, Boateng is back at the club where he made over 100 Premier League appearances and is being tasked with developing the next generation of Villans – one such example being Cameron Archer, who made his full debut in the Carabao Cup rout at Crewe.
Boateng says Villa is the place to be at the moment, which has been reflected by the decisions of Beale and academy manager Mark Harrison to leave Villa’s local rivals, Blues and Albion, and take up jobs in claret and blue.
“Since I came to the club in 1999, I haven’t had a similar feeling until now,” he revealed. “Everything seems to be gelling.
“There have been changes; new coaches, new faces. With Mark Harrison coming in, I believe he has a lot of experience in the development phase, as he did at West Brom, many good players have come through there.
“Based on that, he got the job here. It’s exciting times, for the academy as well as the first team and for all involved.
“We’re not just developing players for the first team; we’re developing players who are then good enough to sell – there’s more value to that than just developing a player.
“We’re Aston Villa. We’re not a small club, we’re a big club in the Midlands – for me, still the biggest – but we have to get back to being No.1 in the area.
“There’s a lot of competition in the area, before it was just Villa, but now there is competition.”
Boateng is enjoying his role under the coaching wing of Beale, too; he has found there is a positive working balance between the pair in the early days of their relationship.
“Richard has come over from – we should say very small! – Birmingham,” he added. “He’s a man with lots of experience in coaching, he’s been coaching for over 16 years.
“He leads the group. I assist him. We’ve got a good balance. Richard has lots of coaching experience, I have lots of ideas from the playing side.
“We are making progress but it takes time. There’s nothing you can do in one month, or one year.”