The subject of my first leader for AVL revolves around the feeling that exists among some fans that Aston Villa is a big club – and should be conducting its business as one – with regard to transfer fees, wages, player procurement, etc. Where I heard this coming to the forefront recently was in the discussion of the Christian Benteke situation. Some believed that either we should not transfer the Benteke contract (and therefore force him to play or to pay whatever it takes to keep him, like a big club) or at least, not to sell him to a club like Spurs or Liverpool because that would be feeding someone smaller, one not in our class.
I posit that Villa is no longer a big club, at least not in the way we should be doing our daily business in the near term. I understand that this might offend those that remember fondly past glories, championships and trophies. That is not my intent. We are a club with a great history, that is indisputable. We have more trophies than most every other club. But sadly, this is not in the near past. The club, its fans, and hopefully its players are very prideful of these facts. But, I don’t feel this should be used as an excuse to buy without regard, in order to attempt a quick fix and to climb the table in a speedy fashion. We tried that already. We didn’t quite reach the pinnacle, and the subsequent fall was brutal. We don’t have unlimited funds. We are not among the leaders in revenues. Our ticket prices are not extravagant. We don’t have 60,000 in the seats every Saturday.
What determines that we are a “big” club at this point in time?
In a sense, Villa has a similar problem to many teams in American sports. Fans demand that teams spend more money obtaining players. Owners respond that if more fans show up and we increase ticket prices and revenues, we can spend more. Fans come back and say if you put out a better product, we will show up. It can become a vicious circle. It appears Villa will try to overcome this issue by stripping the team, and living within its means. This can be a painstaking and frustrating process for fans.
Don’t read this as that I am resigned to relegating Villa to the football scrap heap. I believe Aston Villa is a sleeping giant in the Premier League. We have a first class stadium, training facility and youth program. Aston Villa has a rabid and far-reaching fan base, and Birmingham has a sufficient population to support its growth in the future. If I didn’t believe all of this, I would not have chosen to support the claret and blue. If I wanted an easy Champions League entry most years, I could have ventured Manchester way. After all, life is short and mine is more than half over. But, to me, rising to the upper reaches will take time and the thrill will have to be in the chase, at least for a while. And I believe, the best chance of becoming a big club again, given the current climate of British football, is to think like a “small” club now.
I would have loved to see Benteke return – as most would, but only within the framework of our long-term plan, if that was possible. As others have said, maybe it was bad timing for Benteke. For Villa, the future is not next year. This is the harsh truth. So the question becomes: what players will realistically be here in three or five years, when we have a chance to accomplish greater things? We must determine when the best time is to maximize a player’s value to the club.
Certainly, to some extent, this has begun already. It can be seen as a kick in the shorts that a club of our stature is shopping at the bargain bin. For a club that has made significant purchases in the past, it might seem to be taking two steps backward. Fans want everything now, especially after an extended time without success. But those high dollar purchases require two to tango. On top of our reluctance to break the bank, established players probably do not yet see us a big club either, one that is an attractive destination, one that has a potential for greatness soon.
Young players, especially from elsewhere in Europe, are not signing with Villa because we are a big club, regardless of what they might say. Of course, we may be a big club compared to where they were before. They don’t remember our last trophy. What our new players are saying is that Villa is a young, up-and-coming club, one that is not afraid to give youth a chance. It’s clear that is what Paul Lambert is selling them, and that is our path forward to becoming a big club again. Build with young and inexpensive players. Plan on many of them growing with the team as the years progress. Of course, some will outgrow us, and we will sell them on. This is also, realistically, part of the plan. Use the net transfer proceeds to purchase more young players or the occasional veteran who we might think can put us over the top. Attempt to make this a sustainable program. The pain we are feeling is that we are in the beginning of the process of becoming a small club.
The future is not always clear nor guaranteed, and as fans we have a tendency to be impatient, but given the realities of the sport as it exists now, I feel it is a necessary evil and our best shot at becoming relevant again.
The Author
