I’ve been an Aston Villa supporter ever since the 60s – that’s the 1960s by the way, not the 1860s – and I have seen some good players and some great players. The one thing they had in common was hard work, commitment and pride for the shirt they wore during the game. Football’s come a long way since then, but have we come as far as a team?
In short, can we compete with the clubs from London, Manchester or Liverpool?
We have had limited success playing against some of those clubs but I’m a realist. I’m resigned to the fact that, on the whole, we will be lucky to achieve a draw at home against most of those clubs mentioned.
Home or away, we seem to rely on the long ball forward and a quick break. This appeared to work in the beginning, but teams became wise to this and put two or more around the target player (mostly Christian Benteke) and filled their midfield with extra players.
Our defence leaks worse than a burst water pipe and, in my opinion, without our captain, Ron Vlaar, we are a Championship side at best. The midfield is lacking, not only in authority, but lacking full stop. That, for me, is where the problem lies.
In addition, we have no plan B. There is no player who can dictate and create opportunities at Villa in the long term. We also can not seem to attract quality players or pay top wages. We are purchasing players from a lower league and, due to their age, they are players of limited experience.
Now, is this down to Aston Villa not being a large club? We are a club with past history and a founder member of the original football league. We have been in the Premier League since it began and are still the largest club in the Midlands, at least in my opinion.
However, all that history counts for nothing – what counts is where we go from here? We need experience, as well as youth, to sustain our club for the future. We need a manager with vision during the game to change players around and to make the most of the formations we play. We also need a board that will encourage star players to arrive at the club, and who can instil pride for wearing the club colours.
We escaped the drop last year, and hopefully this year, but if this carries on as it has for the past few years, we will drop to the Championship next season, and I fear not return quickly.
In short, I feel we need to improve at all levels, and against all teams in the league, but more so against the teams around us who, like us, will struggle in this league. My heart informs me we are not one of the three worst teams in this league, but my head informs me that we are not much more than a mid-table team if we are honest.
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