After a season of the worst results and football we have ever seen at B6, the news that Alex McLeish had been sacked on Monday was music to the ears of nearly all Villa fans.
Immediately after the news, it felt like a cloud had lifted, and I literally felt like we had a future again – there was something to look forward to.
Now the club know they got the last appointment massively wrong, sometimes fortune favours the bold, but it just didn’t work this time. Don’t get me wrong, it would have been funny if it had, but that’s happened, and it’s gone. The focus now needs to be firmly placed on moving forward.
The Future – A Bright One?
Now while the club will do their thing and make the next appointment, ba we as fans have to do our part too.
We have to accept who is picked – no questions asked, as hard as that may be for us to do.
We need to accept that not everyone will be happy with who the club picks – that’s just the way life is – but what we must do is provide unconditional support for the new man. That shouldn’t be too hard after this last season but, nonetheless, when the news breaks, positivity and support should engulf the blogs and Twitter from the word go.
We should all realise that the next man, whoever he may be, has a big job. Actually, never mind calling it a big job, it is probably the biggest job a man has had to take on in the history of Aston Villa Football Club.
The next man has got to galvanise a threadbare squad drained of all confidence, and instill a belief in attacking football.
He has got to spend wisely, and purchase some new key players to add to, and complement, the squad.
He has got to nurture and guide our exciting pack of youth players that were dumped into the heat of a relegation battle last season.
Biggest of all, the next man has to be bought in to by the fans and given a chance – he will need us, and we will need him.
With a new man in charge, a few new players, and the support of the Villa faithful, next season is already beginning to excite me.
In a funny sort of a way, the last season, dreadful as it was, will play to our benefit because next season’s improvement will galvanise the fan base again. Last season will have given the youth some valuable experience, and forced the club to realise we need a complete overhaul, not another series of just making do.
Even though Big ‘Eck wore his lucky blue pants, he still gave us the worst season we have ever witnessed but, in a weird sort of a way. it has actually benefitted us.
As a team and club, learning from the past experiences will only make us stronger. As they say, what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.
I’m already looking forward to the first day of the season because the good atmosphere will be back, the songs, and the fans. Villa Park will become a fortress again, and teams will be worrying about visiting.
Watch out the rest of the league, Aston Villa Football Club is back! With the right appointment, the sleeping giant will awaken again.
The future is bright, the future is claret and blue!
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