The best ability is availability. This remains especially true in the football world where injuries play a profound role in shaping the course of a club’s season.
Leicester City won the 2015/2016 Premier League title because they were really good. Leicester City also won the 2015/2016 Premier League title because Claudio Ranieri largely relied upon the same starting eleven each week: Schmeichel; Simpson, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs; Mahrez, Kante, Drinkwater, Albrighton; Okazaki, Vardy.
The Foxes were lucky in a sense. They dealt with so few injuries over the course of that historic season, they tackled every top flight competitor with their “A” lineup. In an age where hundreds of millions of dollars/euros/pounds are spent on transfers, wages and player maintenance, clubs ultimately lose out on their investment when someone hits the sidelines for an extended spell.
For Aston Villa Football Club, this rings true far too often. Jordan Amavi’s knee injury back in October 2015 essentially devastated both the season (Cissokho at LB all year was…bad) and his Villa club career (took over a year to fully recover, never favored under a new manager). Two-and-a-half years removed from injury, Amavi is thriving back in France with Marseille. Moreover, he received a call-up to Les Bleus.
Collectively, we saw what John Terry’s broken foot did to Villa. Tommy Elphick eventually held down the fort in his absence, but December was a dreadful month for the claret and blue. For awhile, too, Villa had some absurd difference in record when Mile Jedinak was in the starting lineup vs. when Mile Jedinak was not in the starting lineup.
But this is an ode to the players who are always available. Every club seems to have a few, but for Aston Villa, James Chester, and more recently, Ahmed Elmohamady, remain ready for action week in and week out. Here are the total appearances for Elmohamady, in England, by season:
2010-2011: 38
2011-2012: 21
2012-2013: 43
2013-2014: 45
2014-2015: 43
2015-2016: 50
2016-2017: 37
2017-2018, current: 28
Aside from a quick spell as an out-of-favor winger at Sunderland, Elmo has almost never been injured. His two-game miss earlier in August for a facial bruise is his only career injury, per transfermarkt.
Likewise, James Chester, as an outfield player, has not missed a single minute of league action on the season. Last year he *only* played in 45 of the total 46 league contests. For his career, Chester has missed time twice for muscle injuries, never for more than two months, and not in years since his Hull City days.
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Special shout-out to Sam Johnstone as well. Since joining Aston Villa on loan in January 2017, Johnstone too has not missed a single minute of Championship football.
So here we are. In what was supposed to be a piece on injuries in the game, turned into praise for Villa’s ever-ready, steadying players on their fitness prowess. Sometimes, the best ability truly is availability.