As we continue to talk about the two wonderful Champions League Semi-Finals we’ve just witnessed this week, I can’t help, as an Aston Villa fan, to reminisce.

Thirty years ago, in Rotterdam, Dennis Mortimer of Aston Villa raised the European Cup aloft after a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich. Chelsea finished their season 12th in League Division 2.

The 1-2 home defeat to Bolton Wanderers earlier this week hit home. Hard. The denial of the daunting, scary, unfathomable realization that, Oh My God, we’re actually in a relegation fight, with a pretty good chance; bearing in mind our remaining fixtures, of going down.

Since the glory of that night in Rotterdam, Aston Villa has been relegated since. Under the management of Billy McNeill in 1987, Villa finished bottom of Division One, a mere 5 years after becoming Champions of Europe. The first game I watched at Villa Park was the following season, against Bournemouth, coincidentally managed by Harry Redknapp. From there, I was hooked. The following season, still in Division Two, I watched all but four of the home games and witnessed Villa promoted.

So Aston Villa, since the fairly recent departure of Martin O’Neill, have slumped. Year after year, a top six finish was normal, along with a good cup run one year or another. That’s what I, as a Villa fan, call a good year. Since then, I’ve found myself studying the success and failure of the Cleveland Browns, desperately trying to find a connection between Randy Lerner and mediocrity. Although I haven’t found it, it’s there. Given Villa’s mighty debts and losses for 2011, I can understand an owner getting to grips with rising player wages, financial fair play, sponsorship and attendances. I can understand the appointment of a coach that will cool things down, make good use of the academy, keep us in the Premier League and build from there. Desperate to appoint a coach with Premier League experience following the mutual exit of Gerrard Houllier, along comes Alex McLeish. His Premier League experience involved relegation. Twice. Maybe now a third.

With the history of Europe, FA Cups and League Titles, are Aston Villa, a team that I love, too big to be relegated? No. Quite simply put, we’re just not good enough to stay up. I hear Leeds United fans, and Nottingham Forest fans saying they deserve to be in the Premier League based on their history. Utter Bollocks. You deserve to be where your results end you up. History, outside of the current season, means nothing in football. When you fail to win games and have a win ratio of 20%, scoring an average 1 goal per game, you go down. Outside of Wolverhampton Wanderers (who are already relegated), Aston Villa has the least number of wins in the Premier League, with a mere seven.

To rely on the failure of clubs below Villa in the table, is disastrous. With an in-form West Brom, Spurs and tricky Norwich as our remaining games, I can’t see a win. I see relegation.

Will Villa bounce back like Newcastle (and possibly West Ham), or will we be mired like Leeds, Forest or Sheffield Wednesday in washout row? I have no idea. I only know that our success or failure lies simply with results, not how grand our stadium or our trophy cabinet has become. The fans, including myself, have vented their angst toward McLeish to the point where Lerner has to issue a statement saying he shared in the fans frustrations (You hired him, Randy!) yet, supports the manager. While I hope this is the kiss of death, vote of confidence two weeks before you’re fired-type statement, it may turn out to be permanent. Who better, bar Neil Warnock or Chris Hughton to get a team back into the Premier League than Alex McLeish?

Aston Villa. Too big to relegated, not good enough to stay up. Have they hired a coach that is too good for the Championship, but not good enough for the Premier League? It’s doubtful if Villa fans can get over McLeish. Nothing to do with the fact that he once coached our fiercest, bitterest rivals, but purely on the fact that he insists on archaic, park-the-bus, long ball football that is ugly.

Seeing what Houllier was trying to build dismantled by McLeish reinforced my assertion that this was going to be a rough season. I didn’t think it would be this rough.

This begs the question(s), with three games left. Should he stay, or should he go? Wolves may be a benchmark this season in letting go a manager this late. Are we at the point with nothing left to lose? The catch 22 may go something like this: If he stays, and Villa stay up, does he then stay for next season? If Villa do go down, does he then prove his experience correct to get promoted, and stay for next season? If sacked now and Villa go down, is that an expected circumstance?

Either way, these next three weeks will be agonizing for a fan of the bottom six teams. With one relegation berth already taken, staying up will feel like that night in Rotterdam in 1982. Success is no longer measured by a Europa League place, but by avoiding failure. Not good enough.

On April 27, 1989 in Rosenheim, West Germany, there was a gift to the world and German football. He was named Lars Bender. Lars started his footballing career with TSV Brannenburg and continued to play for an array of clubs until Bayer Leverkusen came knocking. He embraced the opportunity with joy and joined them in 2009 when he was only 20. He had spent the previous three seasons at 1860 Munich where he rarely had first team opportunities. He managed only 47 games for 1860 Munich during his stay there. He was mainly used as a substitute yet he won the Fritz-Walter trophy in 2006 ahead of Marko Marin and Sven Bender.

Like Nuri Sahin for Borussia Dortmund, it can be said without thinking twice that Arturo Vidal has been the best performer for Bayer Leverkusen in the just ended season. The Chilean midfielder missed only a single game and was used as a substitute only on two occasions for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. This shows how important and key he was to Leverkusen in the campaign. He bagged an impressive ten goals from midfield and managed eleven assists, no wonder a herd of top European clubs are after his signature. Most of Lars’ appearances for Leverkusen came as a substitute nonetheless he lived up to expectation and proved himself. There is no doubt that from a list of five best performers for Leverkusen, the name Lars Bender will be ever present.

The transfer window has been very busy for German clubs with a lot moving in and a lot moving out too. Every now and then we hear of a new signing for most of the teams. It seems everyone is beefing up their team to challenge for the Bundesliga title after Borussia Dortmund showed the other clubs how it is done. Not much has been heard or seen from the bank books of the Werkself. Probably Wolfgang Holzhauser has other things on my mind. I believe it’s the right thing because Bayer Leverkusen already has a wonderful squad and one or two additions will be enough as they are already in possession of the man to take them to the Promise Land. His name is Lars Bender.

It’s been nineteen years since Leverkusen last won a major trophy and if the name Vizekusen is not to be heard yet again a major trophy must be won and the one to help Leverkusen achieve this feat I believe is Lars Bender. Keep reading to enlighten yourself as to why I believe Lars Bender-a relatively unknown figure is the man on whose shoulders lies the much needed drive to bring back smiles on the faces of the BayArena faithfuls.

There are no questions about the depth of talent embedded in Lars. He is absolutely equipped with all the tools needed for the trade, touch, speed, power, strength and name the rest. In 2006, whiles playing for 1860 Munich, Lars won the Fritz-Walter trophy ahead of Weder Bremen’s Marko Marin and Borussia Dortmund’s Sven Bender. Marin was a prodigy in his days at Moenchengladbach and through to Bremen where he has grown to be a top class player and forms an integral part of the Bremen side. He has already represented the German national side in the World Cup in South Africa and it’s only a matter of time before a top European club comes knocking at his door. Not much had been heard of Sven Bender until he was given an opportunity in Jurgen Klopp’s side which he took without looking back. He has been a revelation since then. A hard working and tactically gifted midfielder, he offered Jurgen Klopp’s side the urge they needed in midfield. His impressive performances didn’t go unnoticed as he obtained international call ups from Jaochim Low. The point is that Marko Marin is a proven top class player and Sven Bender is a superstar in the making. For Lars Bender to have beaten them both to the Fritz-Walter trophy five years back, speaks volumes of the kind of player Lars Bender is.

What makes you think that such an experienced and master tactician in Jupp Heynckes will sign a relatively unknown young player a couple of months after his appointment as Bayern Leverkusen coach. Coaches like Jupp Heynckes have great ability to spot stars of the future which is why he signed Lars Bender in 2009 when he was only 20.

In the 2010/11 season, Lars was expected to degrade as fourth choice central midfielder with the arrival of the experienced Germany captain Michael Ballack. However, Lars proved that neither age nor experience can be substitute for talent as the season turned out to be a successful one for him, playing in good form slowly but surely giving him the first team regular status he rightly deserved. He made 27 appearances for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, scoring a couple of goals earning accolades and capturing the attention of critics with his outstanding performances.

With Arturo Vidal on the brink of leaving for Bayern Munich and ageing, injury prone and inconsistent midfielders such as Renato Augusto, Michael Ballack, Tranquillo Barnetta and Simon Rolfes, Leverkusen would heavily rely on the amazing Lars to propel them to a victorious and successful campaign for the 20011/12 season and beyond.

Next season promises to be a wonderful one for Lars Bender as he will have the opportunity to operate freely when his presence will be felt and his authority on the pitch cannot be disputed. It can arguably be said that Nuri Sahin was the discovery of the just ended season and by the end of the 2011/12 season Lars Bender will be a serious contender for that award.