Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert's gamble on youth pays off after buying into owner Randy Lerner's vision It also means that older players, such as Bent, the highest-profile casualty, would be supplanted by players who fitted into the team's style of play: namely £7 million signing Christian Benteke who has been a revelation when he had appeared a gamble. He's also just 22. Younger players also mean lower wages - a happy result for Lerner who despite his investment has yearned for a manager who would buy-in to his desire for a self-sustaining model of a club. At one time he had hoped that man might be Steve McClaren, but balked at appointing him in June 2011, taking McLeish instead, with Lambert combining that energy to be out on the training pitches with an unbending belief in what he is doing. There are cuts involved also: goalkeeper Brad Guzan has replaced Shay Given, who it's hoped could leave in January, but only after the American returned to the club on a lower salary than he was paid last season when his contract expired. On Sunday Villa travel to Chelsea and with such a young team there may be an inevitable dip after the heights of last week's 3-1 win at Anfield. Captain that day, and for Villa's last three matches, was Ciaran Clark, just 23, who formed a three-man defence with Chris Herd, also 23 and 21-year-old Nathan Baker. All are academy graduates as were three others in that team. "As a team coming through together everyone is close mates and everyone is together," Clark said. The emphasis on youth has also led to an uplift throughout the club. "Everyone knows there is hope here," he said. I'm sure all the younger teams and players can see there are a lot of young players coming through and they must see that they can do the same.