Yes, there’s precious little sympathy for a certain Scot in B6 today…and plenty of love for another who reminds many of nothing quite so much as a certain once-beloved Irishman. But it’s a sad day for Aston Villa, I promise you, even though you don’t realize it. Yet. Never mind the rainbows and unicorns.
Getting rid of Alex was the easy part. Replacing him, well, that’s another story. After all, who do you know that would voluntarily step up to take charge of Hutton, Collins, Dunne, and Warnock? Besides the man who crippled us by signing three-fourths of that glorious back line in the first place, or the man who had no choice but to round it out and promptly put the set around his neck, millstone fashion.
Who can step up and sort out this mess? Big Sam, I tell you. He’ll straighten them right out. No more bollocks at B6. It’s square-jaw time, and none of the buffet bust-ups, never mind your bedsheet high-jinks. It’s time we buckled down and got down to business with a proper big-headed manager. Because big heads are what’s needed, more forehead and less tolerance, and more effective head butting on offer at halftime.
Okay, not really.
If anyone is taking the temperature of the faithful, they’ll know Paul Lambert, Roberto Martinez, Brendan Rodgers, Gus Poyet, and perhaps even a certain Dutch duo favored by the Trotskyite element, are where Villans are expecting Lerner to turn. Well, hoping anyway. The Curbishleys, Allardyces, and Bruces of the world need not apply, right? It’s a new dawn. No time to look back. Let’s be bold and carpe diem.
Hughton? Forget it. He couldn’t get Blues promoted. Mark Hughes? Funny how that name has fallen out of favor. Owen Coyle? Doesn’t relegation count against you? Or did he just have bad luck/a poor squad/not much money? Whatever, excuses are not welcome at B6. Just results.
So it’s got to be someone ‘young’ and dynamic, someone progressive who believes a football is meant to be passed among players wearing the same kit, players who aren’t afraid of said ball, players with heart and pace and guile and undying will to win.
André Villas-Boas, perhaps, because there’s no winning formula to change just for the sake of it. And a mastermind Director of Football to pull all the strings, establish a footballing philosophy, and scour the globe for promising talent.
Sort of a tall order, getting it all right. I’d throw my name in the hat, but it’s best not to mention the war.
The Good News
Randy Lerner didn’t screw around. The season ended, and Alex McLeish, despite achieving the minimum just by the skin of his teeth, is gone, a victim of a perfect storm, to be honest. As others like Collymore and Merson have said (and whatever you think of them, they ought to know something about football), better men would’ve been challenged.
A poor squad, no money, injuries…and, more tellingly, a certain malaise that’s settled over the club in no small part because mediocre players don’t need to listen to anyone since they can’t be gotten rid of when their salaries preclude moving them on whilst also precluding the funds for adequate replacements, never mind upgrades.
So whomever Lerner turns to, it’s got to be someone who can either work with that lot for the next year, or find replacements cheap enough to still fit under the cap. Even better, he pulls off the miraculous and gets them to move on. One would hope Lerner might be willing to buy them out and let them move on by mutual consent. But will they want to leave? Something to watch.
Moreover, with his decision and clear statement, Lerner seems to have rehabilitated his image somewhat. He’d been unfairly criticized, I think. The move shows not so much how much power the fans have, rather, the fact that Lerner isn’t as dumb as some would have it, and is more than capable of swinging the axe.
It was obvious that sacking McLeish was a win-win for him. But it only became a win-win because nothing improved, and real results never followed. Giving the fans what they wanted became very easy, indeed. There was nothing for Lerner to back, in the end.
Had there been a run? Well, there wasn’t, and as I suggested prior to the Bolton match, there’s staying up and then there’s staying up. Villa stayed up, but hardly looked inspiring. Lerner, who might’ve been tempted to keep McLeish on had there been more to recommend him during the season, couldn’t, at the end, find a reason that balanced out the headache. While many professed to be willing to give the Scot a chance, he’d have had to have worked miracles to get even a grudging tip of the hat. As it was, no miracles, plenty of angst and ridicule and despair, and, well, Lerner’s mind was made up for him.
The Bad News
An ugly chapter closes, then, and the owner has a chance to put things back on course. Still, the side is full of dead weight. While I’ve said that it could get better quickly, that presupposes moving on the biggest problems.
Dunne, Collins, Warnock and Hutton…they’ve all got to go. They’re substandard in almost every regard, even if they’re working hard. Not quick or agile enough. Not good enough on the ball. Not fast enough. Not athletic enough. They’re holding the whole team back. Never mind conceding penalties, free kicks and corners with distressing frequency while managing to convert precious little of them up the other end.
I don’t know what can be done, and maybe whoever comes in disagrees completely. But that’s where I’d start.
I’d also let Gabby, Albrighton, and Bannan go, take whatever I could get. With Petrov, Heskey and Cuellar out of the frame, that’s 10 players easily surplus to requirements and clearly not good enough for the top 10. Yet, 10 players who were integral to the side. This is why I don’t hate Alex McLeish. Genius? No. Guy with a crap team? Yes.
Which means I also don’t quite understand when people talk about underachieving. We didn’t play hard or well for the most part, but we ended up about where we deserved to be, realistically. Stephen Ireland, Charles N’Zogbia, Jean II Makoun, Shay Given. That’s what the next man has to work with in reality. Lichaj, Herd, Gardner, Clark…maybe Baker. But they’re not starters on a side that’s in the top six.
So is it a job better suited to Martinez or Lambert, the two early favorites? Me, I’d like to see Martinez, and he was my pick last year. I’d like to see fresh faces, some flair, some emphasis on the right things. I’d like to think we could provide him the resources to flourish. But Martinez is going to take longer to come good than a Lambert, I would imagine.
But if it’s not him, then Lambert would do…Hell, most anyone would do, really from the list of bright young things. I’m as exhausted as anyone over the past season, and desperately hoping we have someone soon that we can all rally around.
And make no mistake. The majority got what they wanted. Which means they own the change. Now all we need is for Lerner to make a solid pick we can get behind, and then show everyone we’re not actually a bunch of fickle bastards. We just want to win.
In the meantime, celebrate, rejoice, and enjoy these rare few hours or days where everything seems possible again.
The Author
