Given the conversation on here regarding a few particular points, in this case both Darren Bent and Alex McLeish, I figured it prudent to candidly spell out my own personal feelings, as I’ve seen some altogether strange opinions of what people think I think in recent times.
The Case For Darren Bent
Firstly, I’ll start with Darren Bent. Some think I have a strange kind of grudge against Darren, when nothing could be further from the truth. The reason I take issue with Bent is that he does not fit into the current setup. Bundle this in with the fact that Villa’s net spending habits have been fairly sparse in recent times, then it is a simply a case of where can Villa raise money.
In an honest view of the squad, there are limited players who would offer both significant amounts of money for their transfer, as well as any number of clubs to purchase them. Given I consider Agbonlahor central to Villa’s success, especially this year, then who else can Villa make any real amount of money from?
Sure, we can all sit here and suggest the older squad players are sold, but unless other people are seeing takers that I have totally missed, then till someone comes in specifically, I don’t hold out much hope for a sale. The youth obviously won’t raise a huge amount of capital either, and given the fact that many think McLeish selling the youth would raise even more anger, it’s another reason why I wouldn’t see it happening.
Bent, on the other hand, is a saleable asset. Of course, selling your good players is never a good sign but, in case anyone has been in hibernation for an extended period, the club’s accounts haven’t been in a great state in recent times. Thus, just like if you or I had a massive overdraft that we needed to clear, or mortgage arrears to pay, we’d have to sell things we didn’t want to just to make ends meet. It’s not good, it’s not cause to be happy, but it is reality.
This doesn’t mean I WANT to sell good players, merely the fact that when the club is in a position where money is lacking, they might well have to sell more expensive players to flesh the squad out. The fact that Villa have one real winger (two at a push if you include N’Zogbia), shows that there is a total lack of squad depth in the team. Without squad depth, just what do we do if a player falls out of form? Keep them in? I’m well aware that this will create comments about Hutton, and I can’t argue with them.
Cost saving has been a necessity. Whilst Bent may well have scored some relevant goals last season, it is akin to owning a Faberge egg in a council house. Selling Young and Downing, as well as releasing Nigel Reo-Coker, meant that Bent was never going to perform on the same level as last year. Surely people understand that selling your best players every year, and subsequently not reinvesting the cash will, sooner or later, cause problems.
I say “surely”, because I get the impression that things are not being read the same way as I am writing them. If we had £100m sitting around to be spent on players, I’d keep Bent in the squad. Sure, the bloke is lazy, but we knew that when we bought him. It’s hardly a revelation of sorts to know that teams that involve Darren Bent like to be set up around Darren Bent, and that Darren Bent likes teams that involve him to be setup around him.
However, the reality is that we (probably) don’t have £100m lying around to boost the squad up. Bent, just like any striker, will not score goals without chances. Gabby’s performances when he has had to adopt the striker mantle in recent games have been far more subdued than earlier in the season. Like it or not, there are a host of problems with the team that need fixing, and they can only be fixed with money.
So, to fill the gaps, we need to sell players. I mean sell players to develop the team by the way, not to line Randy’s pockets. The only way I would be ok with selling Darren would be if all of the money was reinvested. So, to get the money of three players without Mr Lerner putting his hand in his pocket involves one of two strategies:
The first option is sell Bent and use his money and wages to get three others in.
The second option involves selling a lot more players (some of which don’t appear to be overly saleable) who will generate less money. Thus selling some players who aren’t Bent, means the squad really would be cut to the bone. You know the score – it’d be kids having to step up for the majority and, whilst some may suggest that is a good idea, I’m not sure we are in a safe enough position to enact such a gamble.
So, in reality, the idea of selling Bent isn’t one that I have a real thought on either way. It is simply a case that if Randy Lerner isn’t going to fund transfer fees, and I hasten to add we have no concrete evidence that is the case, then Villa need to generate funds, and Bent offers the best return in terms of making money, unless the club are foolish enough to try and offload Gabby, although his salary is way below Darren’s.
The Case For Alex McLeish
Now the Bent situation is a little more clear, I figured I’d turn my focus to Alex McLeish. Again, in recent times it appears that some think I am sitting here treating the man from Glasgow as some kind of gift from heaven. That, had I been in charge, he would have been top of the list of candidates.
The fact of that matter is he wouldn’t have even been on my list. Not in a million years, and certainly not out of choice.
However, I was never privy to the full list of candidates who were interested in the job. By that, I don’t mean the list of candidates who made noises in newspapers, I mean the ACTUAL list of candidates. For all we know, that list of candidates may well have been worse than Alex McLeish, believe it or not.
All we know for certain is that Roberto Martinez was approached, and he rejected us. So maybe, and it is only maybe, Martinez is a better manager than McLeish, but the fact remains that he turned us down, so the point is largely irrelevant.
So who would I have picked? Again, without knowing who was genuinely interested in the job, I can’t tell you. I can obviously name you better managers than Alex McLeish, but that in itself means nothing if they never would have taken the job.
So the facts now are as follows – firstly, Alex McLeish is the manager of the club. Secondly, the owner has stated no intention that he intends to sack him. So, again, like it or not, he is in charge. I don’t hate the guy, but I don’t particularly think he is amazing either. He’s middle of the road – done some good, done some bad. As a person, he’s a lovely bloke, but that is of no relevance as to whether he is or isn’t good enough as a football manager. So that’s the whole truth, not selective pieces of it.
I think we know enough about the tenure of the present owner of Villa to know that, whether we moan or not, he will do his own thing. After all, there were protests before McLeish took the post and it did nothing. There are complaints on many websites about McLeish’s football, but he is still there. Whether people want to accept this or not, all we can do, as fans, is attend the games or not attend the games.
Some of our readers don’t attend the games out of choice. Some won’t renew next season. Others will. Again, there’s no right or wrong answer. I’ve stated that I will go on a press pass next year if I can to save the season ticket money.
I don’t want that to sound like some insult to people who have supported the club for a long time. As you all know, I am a born and bred lad from Aston, who grew up not far from the Witton roundabout, and whose family have been from Aston for generations. I’ve had a season ticket since my mid-teens so, in that instance, trust me, the club is literally ingrained into me since I was born.
The Case For Randy Lerner
However, the fact is that we do not own the club anymore. Ever since Randy took over the club, the club has been a private business. Sure, we attend the games, but that doesn’t, in reality, entitle us to anything. Sounds harsh, and it may be frustrating, but it is the truth. We have as much ability to control the club as I do of walking into my childhood home in North Road and demanding to change the furniture or wallpaper. Zero.
I totally understand the anger. I totally understand how fans, just like me, feel betrayed that things have gotten worse over the past few years. The fact remains though that things went wrong, and we’re now picking up the pieces. Just like if one of us got made redundant, we’d have to adjust our standard of living if we didn’t have a wage coming in, so Villa have to do the same. Nobody is asking you to like it, but it is what it is. Trust me, it’s as frustrating for me as it is for anyone.
The sad reality though is two fold. Firstly, Villa are middle of the road at present. I say “at present” as investment will come when the club resolves all the contract issues that have hungover from Martin’s time at the club. So we aren’t in the abyss forever, we’re just having to deal with problems.
Secondly, Villa haven’t won much in a long while. I don’t like that fact anymore than anyone else does, but that’s just honest truth. I can’t remember Villa playing anything approaching “great” football since Ron Atkinson left. Brian Little did ok, but his gamble on Collymore meant Ellis was going to see his investments as wasted. Gregory bought Balaban. O’Neill spent too much on wages.
Part of why we never kicked on in the past was Doug Ellis. That’s changed now, although many still see Randy Lerner as Ellis 2.0. I think we all know that is nothing like reality.
Another reason, on top of the finances, is that we have never really attracted top drawer managers in recent times. Yes, I can look back on periods where we did well. Martin O’Neill brought us some great progress. I enjoyed part of Gregory’s tenure. For me, Ron Atkinson was the best manager Villa have had in the past 25 years. One man for most of my life. Hardly perpetual excitement.
Some things haven’t changed. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted flair players at the club. One of the reasons why I loved Benni Carbone’s era at Villa was that he was creative, and offered skill. I used to find Merson’s ability fantastic. I dreamed of flair, but the sad reality was most of the flair players who I enjoyed watching when I was a kid played elsewhere. Instead, I was left to look at a Villa team that were, more often than not, built on defence first. McGrath. Southgate and Ehiogu. Laursen and Mellberg. Dunne and Collins. The years pass, but it is the same old story. Defence first. It’s far from a McLeish original.
So why are Villa uncompetitive? Well we’re not a flash London club with the attraction of the capital. If people want to wonder why Spurs do better than us on less money, ask anyone outside of Birmingham where they’d rather live between Birmingham and London. I doubt you’ll be surprised with the answer.
We also don’t have the combination of luck and talent that Ferguson managed at United. He had great kids coming through who are, I’m sorry to say, a class above our academy’s production levels, and the guy has had the support, time, and mentality to constantly reinvent United again and again. For me, Ferguson is the best football manager I’ve ever seen in this country, regardless of the fact he’s never managed Villa.
Also, and as we are fully aware, we don’t have the cash of City or Chelsea either. So, whilst Lerner may well have been comparatively rich when he came in, he’s not as rich nowadays. We have no chance in a straight up money fight with Manchester City or Chelsea, and no business person worth their salt is going to find any value in trying to compete with playboys who have no issue with blowing £50m on a player as a whim.
Context? Abramovich bought Torres for £50m. He bought Shevchenko for £30m. Both have (arguably) been flops. However, Abramovich doesn’t care a bit. Of course, he cares that he hasn’t won the Champions League, but £80m is nothing to him. For Villa, that £80m would have bought you Barry, Young, Milner, Downing, and left you with spare change after what we sold them for. Villa losing £80m means we have had two seasons of turmoil. Abramovich losing £80m means Chelsea finish third, maybe. Different planet.
Anyway, I’m sure you get the point. Villa are in a tough situation. I don’t like it, you don’t like it, and many others don’t. However, the fact remains that it is what it is. Just like if you lost your job today, I wouldn’t expect you to like that either. However, I would hope that you’d do your best to change what you could, and forget what you can’t change.
Villa has been a love affair for my whole life. I love this club totally, and will do all I can to help us, but I also accept I can’t change everything. Maybe next season none of us will renew, and that will send out the message that Randy will take notice of. Maybe he will only look when the money gets seriously impacted. Who knows? We’ll find out soon enough.
The Author
