You know, it’s not just readers who sometimes feel like they have nothing to say. Eamon captured the current mood of Villa perfectly with his Groundhog Day analogy, but sadly we’re lacking Bill Murray, so it’s a Groundhog Day bereft of laughs. Which is rather dour, if you think about it.
Regardless, as I once informed by the owner of a Chinese restaurant when I told her my fortune cookie was empty: “Hey, no news is good news.”
I tend to believe it’s true. However, I also tend to believe that if I just ignore the odd noises my car is making they’ll sort themselves out. Eventually. Which is somewhat less than true. Except for one particularly ominous noise that did seem to sort itself out. Go figure.
Your Friendly Friends
It seems that perhaps those of us who contribute regularly to AVL are a bit out of the mainstream. We’re not panicking, we’re not tearing our hair out, we’re not drafting petitions.
That doesn’t mean we’re happy campers hidden behind oddly colored spectacles. It only means we’ve seen the writing on the subway walls through a pair that’s been dialed in correctly.
And the words of the prophets say, “Not this year, mate.” And they’re right. They might come back and say, “More of the same next year, as well.”
It’s not that we’re mindless “possos”. We’ve just come to an accommodation with the fact that Villa remain a bit of a mess. Not a catastrophic mess, mind you, but more of a damp, bog-like inconvenience that’s not going to do any favors for your favorite pair of shoes.
Speaking as a man who had one ex-wife abruptly exit the house with my kids in tow while I was throwing various relatively soft objects at the TV during a disappointing American football game, I understand passion, anger, and frustration. (I also knew, thank you very much, that the other team was going to attempt a fake punt, and they did to perfection, taking it 60-some yards for a touchdown while I screamed the Lord’s name in vain over and over again.) In the Olympics, 60 yards are covered in a blink. Outside track and field, that sort of thing takes a lifetime. You can work a lot of f-bombs into the Lord’s name in that amount of time.
Get To The Point
Right…The Point. I don’t know. What day is it? Wait, hang on, I remember. The point is that sometimes you’re just screwed. We made a play for fourth, but we were backing the wrong horse. And we bet fairly heavily. Consequently, in a league where money talks, we’ve gone a bit quiet and mumbly, because enough of that misspent money is still under contract.
Now, I won’t pretend to know whether McLeish is the right horse in the long term. Like everyone else, I was surprised when his name came up. But when I thought about it, I remember that picking managers is, as I’m wont to say, a crapshoot, for the most part. You roll the dice. The game is actually won and lost on the talent you field. And we quite simply can’t afford to spend what it will take to get us fourth in this season.
The point is that five games in we haven’t lost. We haven’t won much, either, but we haven’t lost. We’ve picked up points in every single game in a league where the few Haves dominate, and the Have-Nots, or the Have-Not-So-Muches, are left to the largely the same blueprint. We’ve obviously gotten harder to beat, even with a less-talented squad than the one flirting with relegation last year.
The point is that when you can’t buy a title, you’ve got a limited set of options. And we can’t change that at the moment. So, you wrap your head around it, and take in the view with that in mind. Rant all you want, the only thing that will change before January is either more players getting injured or McLeish getting the sack. I would wager more on the former.
A Cup Run
A good cup run is fun. And tonight, we take on Bolton, who should have more to worry about than us or cups. If Bent is truly nursing a groin strain, it’s a good chance to see what we look like without him and Heskey in the side. Whether it’s Gabby up front on his own, or Gabby paired with Delfouneso (if you’ve any other combinations up top for a 4-4-2, you’ll let me know), Bent ought to sit.
That doesn’t mean he will. But he should. Unless some strange contract provisions born of need dictate that he plays unless he’s declared an invalid and given a parking concession.
Me? I’d like to see N’Zogbia in the hole. I don’t know who plays on the wing opposite Albrighton, but it has to be Bannan or Ireland. And neither is a natural wide man. So, I’ll let you lot sort that out, because it gives me a headache.
Now, one hopes that Jermaine Jenas is fit and gets to play, because that’s the only card left up our sleeve. Gardner? Sure, why not. I don’t really care, to be honest, because my guess is that McLeish is already playing the players he thinks give him the best chance of looking good.
Whoever plays, I would like for Villa to just win this game. No, no points on offer, but a win would be good, and a cup, well, come on…you and I both know that’s all we’ve got to play for. Follow the money. You want to be upset? Be upset that the league title is for sale and our owner isn’t rich enough to buy it for us. That’s the real issue. Welcome to 4-20 in the EPL.
Regardless, the point is, it’s okay. Really. The sun will also rise (well, you know what I mean), Villa will stay up, and we’ll live to fight another day. The kids, the missus, your parents and family…That’s what actually matters. In the meantime, it’s up to each Villan to decide whether the situation will control him.
I’ve simply chosen to try and analyze what I’m seeing instead of freaking out about it. And also have a bit more to drink. It does help with the detachment part.
The Author
