So another week starts and the malaise surrounding the club seems to be intact. With just four days left of the transfer window, Aston Villa are yet to complete any deals – whether they are being worked on being the main topic of discussion, and source of panic, for fans.
I’ve been the first to suggest that the club need to spend money in order to get themselves out of the mire as whilst Villa aren’t in the bottom three at present, they are far from anything approaching the term “safety”. In fact, due to the club’s abysmal goal difference, they are only out of the bottom three by virtue of being one point above Reading, with Villa having a ten goal worse goal difference.
However, do Villa need more players? Whilst there is a strong argument to adding a new ingredient to the recipe for success, shouldn’t we be able to get by with what we’ve got?
The answer is, as ever, up for discussion. Some fans feel the team are simply not good enough, whilst others think confidence is a major factor. Whatever the reason, something does need to change.
For many fans, the question will be whether Villa’s latest manager is up to the task. Lauded as a fantastic acquisition at the start of the campaign, Villa fans’ love affair with Paul Lambert appears to be dwindling, with the under-pressure manager rapidly being lumped in with the owner and CEO as those responsible for the club’s circumstances.
In the clouded, complex situation that has unfolded at Villa Park, there is no clear way to point fingers at those who have been involved – one only need look at the settlement awarded to former manager Martin O’Neill to see that things aren’t necessarily straight forward. Does a manager leaving a few days before the start of the season deserve a payoff? Many would say no, especially given the lack of information on exactly why he left.
The reality is that a court did find in favour of O’Neill so evidence, little of it public, must have backed his actions as fair in light of Lerner’s reign, even if many feel the club’s former manager should have walked away with nothing at best.
Ask individuals at the club as to who is at fault and every person will give you a different answer. Add into that the PR machine spouting quotes from Villa’s players, and it is clear that all is not what it seems – just look at player body language when we concede and it is painfully evident that there are splits in the team. Good teams unite under pressure, Villa’s players seem to be doing the reverse.
Of course, fans noticing issues in itself does nothing to actually solve Villa’s problems. Anger may well be cathartic in a sense, but Villa need a solution to problems to move forwards, not an implosion of anger and frustration.
Don’t get me wrong, the frustration and anger are understandable as a once proud club is in the doldrums. Is it productive though? Not really, and potentially may cause even more issues than we are experiencing at present.
Which is, perhaps, hard to comprehend. After all, in a week when the club exited both cup competitions to lower league opposition, confidence is likely to be sapped. Had they been the only setbacks the club had faced, an inspirational pep talk may have fixed the issue. However, as it stands, these results are just the latest in a series of catastrophic results that have got fans worried, resulting in the team not communicating, and fingers pointing everywhere.
The solution? We all have ideas, and some of them may work. The truth, however, is that we don’t know if they will or won’t, and whilst we have thoughts that bringing in player x or player y could make a difference, we are unlikely to see these things occurring, that is unless our mental transfer plans coincidentally transpire to be the same as Lambert’s.
In addition, we don’t know for definite what the circumstances that frame Lambert’s choice he can make and, therefore, are unable to offer any real practical evidence that our choices would work, or if they are even financially feasible – hypothetical solutions are, at best, based on guesswork for the most part.
For all we know, the smoke and mirrors saying there are deals being worked on could be nothing more than misdirection to keep the readers of a popular Villa fan site from revolting, though I have only communicated what I’ve been told – I would be far more angry and aggressive with my stance if I knew this was just a PR lie. In fact, had I been told there was nothing, I would be writing a narrative that was wholly different.
Sure, Aston Villa Life isn’t the biggest concern for the club when it comes to their problems, but I know for a fact that a) the club read the site and b) they consider the views of those who comment on here to be consonant with the balanced, well-informed fan – whilst we are just a fan site, when we are up in arms, they know it isn’t just a minority speaking.
All this isn’t to imply some delusion of grandeur being implied, but when you consider that the club respect the balance our writers have, and the near-30,000 readers we have now per month – with a growing number of commenters – they could do worse than read all your comments to know what is going on.
Getting back to the issue in hand, the chance to escape the mire may hinge on money being spent, with the concern being that money may not be available. If it isn’t, and nothing is done before February 1st, one has to say the odds are against the club in terms of getting out of the mess. It isn’t impossible, no, but it will be increasingly difficult, especially when you consider the fans are on the edge in terms of turning
The next few days will paint a picture of what the plan is. The club should be capable enough to know that particular clauses can be inserted into contracts to not shackle a team with high wages in the event of relegation, but that the concept of doing nothing is fundamentally risky. Add some of these clauses and you nullify the potential risks that relegation could bring – if I can work that out, any person with half a brain can.
Will Villa survive? Come Friday, we’ll know whether our odds are better or worse – truth be told, the hope I have is severely being challenged.
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