Aston Villa’s revival since Unai Emery arrived at the club in October 2022 has been nothing short of remarkable, especially considering where they were under Steven Gerrard.
The former Rangers manager was widely expected to take them to the next level, with his success in Glasgow key to him getting the job, but he turned out to be a poor appointment in the end.
Not only has Emery managed to get the better of the likes of Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola this season, but the Spaniard has shown diligence in the transfer market, improving his squad piece by piece, making some excellent signings.
This has not always been the case at the Midlands outfit, however, as previous managers spent lavish sums of money on players who either rinsed the club dry or failed to live up to expectations.
On rare occasions, a player would fit both of these criteria and one name which springs to mind is that of Ross McCormack, who failed to build upon his initial hype upon his arrival during his spell at Villa.
Ross McCormack’s career statistics
The Scottish striker started off his career by working through the youth system at Rangers, finally earning his big break towards the end of 2003/04, scoring in the last match of the season against Dunfermline Athletic.
It wasn’t until the 2005/06 season that he began to make more appearances under Alex McLeish, with the youngster scoring against Porto in the Champions League, and it looked as though he could be a useful option for the Gers.
Club
Games
Goals
Leeds United
157
58
Fulham
100
42
Cardiff City
88
30
Motherwell
51
9
Aston Villa
24
3
Doncaster
19
5
Melbourne City
17
14
Rangers
13
3
Nottingham Forest
7
1
Central Coast
5
1
Aldershot
2
0
The striker ended up joining Motherwell and eight goals during 2007/08 convinced Cardiff City to take a chance on the Scot, and it turned out to be a wise choice, as he scored 30 goals in 88 appearances for the Welsh side, enhancing his reputation in England.
A productive spell at Leeds United meant Fulham shelled out a transfer fee in the region of £11m to secure the services of the former Light Blues striker in 2014, and he continued his fine scoring rate in the second tier, netting 42 goals for the Cottagers in just 100 appearances, while it looked as though he was ready to make the step-up to a team who held Premier League ambitions.
In the summer of 2016, Aston Villa began to show interest in McCormack and, given that they had just been relegated from the Premier League, they clearly wanted to spend as little time in the Championship as possible.
How much Aston Villa paid to sign Ross McCormack
The club were relegated at the end of the 2015/16 season, their first-ever relegation during the Premier League era, and it meant big changes for the club.
Roberto Di Matteo took over the club in the summer and was looking to build a squad which would secure promotion at the first time of asking.
McCormack was high on the list of transfer targets and, considering he had scored 116 goals in the second tier during his spells at Cardiff, Leeds, and Fulham, snapping him up would give the Italian the best chance of success.
Indeed, the former Chelsea manager spent £12m to secure his services ahead of the 2016/17 season and with the hope of matching the sort of numbers he had enjoyed at Fulham, this move had the potential to be a stunning bargain.
"He is a player whose goalscoring record has been excellent everywhere he has been and we feel he can be an important addition," said Di Matteo upon his arrival, yet the move soon turned sour and McCormack would fail to live up to these lofty heights.
Ross McCormack’s statistics at Aston Villa
The Scottish hitman got off to a decent enough start in his new surroundings, scoring twice and grabbing an assist in his first seven Championship matches for Villa.
They only managed to win one of these, however, losing two and drawing the other four as the drop-down into the second tier was proving harder than first anticipated.
It took McCormack until Boxing Day to score his third Villa goal, yet just over a month later, he was sent out on loan to Nottingham Forest following a strained relationship with Steve Bruce, the new manager.
This was the beginning of the end for the player, and he never scored for Villa again, costing the club millions in wages and his transfer fee.
How much Ross McCormack cost Aston Villa
The striker eventually terminated his contract at the club in the summer of 2019, three years after joining for £12m.
After his loan to Forest, McCormack endured another three loan spells away from Villa over the next two years to clubs such as Melbourne City, Central Coast Mariners, and Motherwell, yet failed to hit the lofty heights he had achieved earlier in his career.
Combining his transfer fee with the £38.5k-per-week wages that the player had earned during his spell at Villa, he cost the club £17m in total in what proved to be a total waste of money.
This was at a time when big-money signings could not be afforded due to their status as a second-tier side, yet he rinsed the club of nearly £20m for three paltry goals.
Bruce criticised him during his spell in charge at Villa Park after he missed training due to an excuse about an electric gate, saying: “In my opinion, he is not fit enough to play, and he will not play unless his attitude towards training and missing training improves. If that improves then I will reconsider him but if he continues to miss training, as he has done, that will be the situation."
Simon Jordan also got in the act, dubbing McCormack a “lazy slob” in February 2017, and it was clear the move was a failure for all parties involved.
Emery, meanwhile, has spent millions in the transfer market, but his signings have been calculated pieces of business that can either improve Villa immediately or come good in the future.