When Alex McLeish came out a few weeks ago with the statement he would only be adding one more signing to that of Shay Given I was as concerned as the rest of the Villa faithful. With a raft of players being released and two of our best being sold our squad is looking a bit thin.
I am now wondering whether McLeish is playing a bit of a waiting game and saving some of his “war chest” for the January transfer window. This may give him the opportunity to buy someone to get him out of trouble if we are doing badly or help push on if we are doing well.
There is no doubt that the arrival of Darren Bent in the last January window kept us from having a very sticky end to the season and would have eased the pressure on Houllier’s job should he have been fit enough to continue. Imagine Bent’s impact if we had been pushing for the top six!
Looking at our fixtures over the first half of the season we have a comparatively easy run-in the first few months, and then a bit of a nightmare December.
In our first thirteen games we only play two of last year’s top six, Man City and Spurs. Even with the squad we have we should be looking at entering the December fixtures with a good haul of points and going into a tough run of games against Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea with some confidence. With a positive start in our earlier fixtures, McLeish could be looking to the transfer window to boost the squad and kick on for a European spot.
The Inevitable Rough Patch
Conversely, a poor start to the season followed by a run of fixtures against the top teams could leave us languishing in the bottom half of the table by Christmas. Is McLeish then likely to use his cash to try and save his job?
Every team goes through a rough patch of the season. I think McLeish will have the fans on his back quicker than most if his team doesn’t perform. Football fans are fickle. We are allowed to be. We pay a lot of money to watch our teams. Is he taking a risk by not having a stronger squad from the start of the season, or is he being clever enough to cover himself with a signing in January if he needs one?
I’m pleased to see that the players he has signed look like they are happy to be at Villa Park, although I know its a bit of a cliché to smile at the camera and say the right things in the press conference. I understand Given has taken a pay cut to join us. And as he is not likely to be using us as a stepping-stone, that suggests to me a player who is going to give it 100%.
I watched Wolves’ new signing Roger Johnson (who has now been made their club captain) in his first interview. He looked like he would rather be at home on his Xbox than signing at Molineux. The guy couldn’t have looked less excited about his new club! At least he didn’t trot out the “dream move” line, or claim he was a boyhood fan of the club he was signing for.
Cue the Fabregas “dream move” to Barcelona the Nasri “dream move” to Man Utd/Man City/highest wage-payer, and the Tevez “dream move” to anywhere that is away from Manchester and slightly nearer Argentina.
The Author
