Monday morning brings a chance to reflect on the weekend, with the benefit of a degree of detachment. As we all know, the fans were unhappy with the performance against Wigan, with a 0-0 draw being far from a good result against a team currently bottom of the table.
Various factions have started to rise out of the ashes of the match, with Alex McLeish being the prime target of fan anger. Several petitions to get rid of the manager have been created in order to gather fan support. All is not well amongst the fans, as if anyone out there even questioned it.
If You’re Going To Do It, Do It Right
All the issues aside, and I include both this weekend and this season’s plight in said round-up, any kind of movement or protest is largely pointless at present. That isn’t to say that fans shouldn’t feel angry – they should – but that sacking McLeish at this present moment is likely to do nothing. Doing it at the end of the season? Different proposition altogether.
Put it this way, things are bad, yes, and there’s no denying that 15th is not a good position for this club to be in, but if we want to make a difference, we have to detach ourselves from what is going on. I’m not saying we should become apathetic about the club’s plight, nor should we ignore results, but the only way forwards is with rationality and organisation.
People may think that emotion and anger are the way to get things done, as though being angry or, to be more specific, being easily affected by results, is the way to show yourself as a true fan. Let me tell you now, it isn’t – it makes no difference to Randy Lerner or the board if fans are angry. Being angry only affects you and your life, it doesn’t affect the club.
Anger also is a prime focus with the manager. Again, anger is not going to make anything happen, merely make your life a more angry place. Do the club care if you’re angry? No. In fact, it makes no odds whether you are or not.
So understanding all this, what exactly do we do I hear you ask? The important thing with regards to establishing a coherent and believable movement for change is to structure things properly and sensibly. To date, no protest movement or group finding themselves disillusioned has gone about it right. First there was the amorphous group of fans who protested McLeish before he came here. Nothing happened. Then, more recently, Villa Fans United have tried to initiate a campaign, only to make themselves look amateurish in multiple ways.
Some might see this analysis as a way of believing that one view is better than another. This isn’t the case. Opinions are opinions, and they are all as valid as one another, but they are not facts.
For example, if Villa Fans United wanted to be taken seriously, why did they ask for a meeting with Paul Faulkner, apparently get one, then publicly turn it down? What exactly did that achieve? Supporters of the faction will suggest it showed that it proved VFU were in control. The reality though is it just made them look like indecisive fools. Don’t ask for a meeting with the CEO and then shun it when it happens. It doesn’t make you more in control, it diminishes your control.
Again, their explanation was “We didn’t have everything together that we needed to”, to which I would say “Well why didn’t you think of that BEFORE you asked for a meeting?”. Professional? Hardly.
Change Means Changed Results Or Communication Of A Different Set Of Ambitions
We all knew this season was going to be a real waste of time. I know some fans communicate as though where we are is a massive shock, as though, prior to the season starting, we were clearly a shoe-in for the top eight and not, as was really the case, a team that had sold two of its better performing players.
This season was never going to be great, barring a miracle turnaround by McLeish and, knowing what we know, few predicted that. Instead, what we have is infighting caused by board naivety. Well, naivety or Machiavellian manipulation.
Is that too much of a conspiracy? Not really. There’s no conspiracy there, merely a mostly “no-lose” situation. Assuming Aston Villa avoid relegation, and I still think they will, the board have pulled a potential masterstroke. It’s not going to be seen that way by us, but it may well be one for Villa. McLeish turns the season around? They come out fine. McLeish gets sacked? The board get applause for doing what the fans want. The only way the board can lose is going down, and that still seems fairly improbable.
After all, who else is better to do the dirty work of a club with financial issues to sort apart from your hated enemy. If their choice does well, the fans will back him because of results. If it goes badly, sack him and move on. Job done.
Moving onto the analysis of the manager though, I don’t believe any change will occur mid-season. This is for a number of reasons:
Firstly, the club will not get rid of the manager unless there is an outstanding candidate who is guaranteed to do better. Knowing what we know, and seeing who is out there, who exactly do you think the board will see who fits their criteria, and would take the job, especially considering present circumstances?
Secondly, the club knows that issues run deeper than the manager. Had this season been a dramatic fall from last, then McLeish may well have signed his own death warrant. The reality though is that Villa aren’t much different to where they were this time last year, and Houllier didn’t get the sack then so, by that token, neither will McLeish.
However, irrespective of the situation with the club, keeping McLeish on next season may well be a foolish thing to do. Whether the board care to subscribe to football tribalism or not, they need to understand that many fans do. So if the club keep McLeish on, expect some to not renew again, even if Villa survive. Once bitten, twice shy.
Additional to this, 15th is pretty poor considering the club’s squad. We all know our players aren’t world class, and the team may well feel disenfranchised, but part of the role of the manager is to motivate and, well, manage players. If they can’t do that, then what’s the point?
This isn’t to say that “McLeish has lost the dressing room”, because he hasn’t, but being unable to change things is just as dangerous, actually more dangerous, as having open warfare. At least with open warfare, sides can be picked, and people can be culled. Instead, it appears Villa want to disappear like a damp squib, disappearing quietly into the night as the rest of the world continues with life.
At the end of the season, things need to be analysed. The experiment hasn’t worked in the eyes of the fans, or in terms of progressing the football, so, barring a dramatic announcement at the end of the season, things need to change. This means either a new manager, lots of new players, or a lot of new money. Financial cuts may validate point three, and thus point two by reference, but, even then, many fans would not be happy to see McLeish spend it.
I personally would like Paul Lambert, but he’s not going to come before the end of the season in my eyes. So, in the meantime, we need to get behind the team. If you don’t like McLeish, just forget about him for the moment, and realise that our support is imperative. Why? Whether McLeish goes down with Villa or saves them, it won’t change his passion for the club, but it will certainly affect us.
It is now time to stand together as fans, and eliminate this ridiculous infighting till the end of the season. Then, and only then, we can think about how we’re going to communicate change to the board, in a proper and organised manner.
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