The headline may sound back to front but, as many Aston Villa fans are aware, last season’s failure may actually have a positive effect. Yes, we struggled under Alex McLeish and, yes, the football was pretty rubbish, but that is in the past, he’s been sacked now, and things are moving on.
I had thought to myself that the finish the season prior – meaning the fact Villa were only safe at the end of game 36 rather than the ninth placed finish they managed – would be enough to change fans views. I’m sure many are, like me, unhappy with the backwards slide the club has experienced, but the perspective one had hoped would come after Houllier’s season didn’t.
Now, after a campaign where we were, if we are honest, largely fortunate to survive because of the existence of poorer teams, I believe the expectations may well be sitting back in line with reality.
I will be quick to say that understanding the present circumstances does not mean being happy with mediocrity, nor does it mean that we should not attempt to get better. Nobody should be happy with mediocrity – even the smallest teams should and do have ambitions – but moving forwards will be an iterative process.
With that in mind, Villa’s next season may well harbour more modest levels of progress than some may want. For Villa, with the circumstances being what they are, tenth may well be a significant achievement, depending of course on who the new manager is and how well he is funded.
In order for Villa to move forwards in any way at all, the club must understand that a continuation of that attitude shown last season is both foolish and damaging. I totally understand, accept, and even laud, the need for financial cuts to move forwards but, in light of the circumstances, other options must be looked at to change Villa’s trajectory.
It would make more than a little sense that the new man, whether Roberto Martinez or not, will be given money to make things happen. After all, without such a plan in place, the job at B6 becomes increasingly dull and uninteresting to anyone but the desperate and those who have previously failed – nobody comes into a situation that bad without either reassurances on spending, or by being severely underqualified.
So the next season will probably be a slow, but sure, improvement on last time. It may not have the “glittering” achievements that littered Martin O’Neill’s tenure (well the high league placings), but it should mean a step in the right direction.
Now is a time for Villa fans to have patience. The problems may not be sorted overnight, in fact I would suggest they won’t be, but acceptance of the need for the club to progress is intrinsic to any potential for future progress.
The other option is gnashing of teeth, stomping of feet, and an alienation of anyone of any quality from the post.
Which choice do you prefer? Patience and potential, or anger and atrophy of the club’s weakened position? Whilst fans have no choice on who the manager picks, their involvement and support will be critical to Villa’s next chapter of their history. Up or down, the fans have a part to play.
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