Isn’t it amazing how quickly things can change in football? Just 12 months ago our most loved Scotsman, Alex McLeish, had been at the helm for a little over a month, the Blue half of Birmingham were smirking at us, we had little or no money to spend on players, and the fans knew deep down that the season ahead was going to be a grueling experience.
And yet just 365 days later and on the back of one of our worst outings in the Premier League, a Dutch international player has recently come out and said, and I quote, “Joining Aston Villa would be a dream come true.” Those were the exact words of Feyenoord’s Ron Vlaar, who’s transfer has yet to be concluded at the time of writing.
Admittedly at first I was a tad sceptical on the appointment of Paul Lambert because although he’d worked absolute wonders at Norwich City, his previous managerial experiences at Colchester, Wycombe, and Livingston respectively were totally incomparable to that of a club the size of Aston Villa. And as I’ve mentioned in previous articles, absolutely any appointment would have been a step forward after last season’s shambles.
Positivity is pumping through the veins of every Villa fan right now and like the next man I’m buying into everything Paul Lambert is doing at the club. He’s bringing in fresh faces to fulfill positions that we as fans knew needed strengthening—it’s like he has the exact same perspective as what we do, which is highly uncommon in the modern game.
This past week has been very exciting. Two of the latest recruits, Karim El Ahmadi and Brett Holman, shone in our 2-1 friendly win over Burton Albion and the club continues to be linked to yet more players including Liverpool forward Andy Carroll.
The Andy Carroll rumour is an interesting one because I’ve always said that Darren Bent works best as a lone man up top, with attacking midfielders and wide men getting up to support him and delivering those dangerous balls that he feeds on. And although Carroll received his fair share of stick last season I’m of the belief that only someone of his power and aerial prowess would work alongside Bent. It’s a move that I’d more than welcome.
I’ve noticed that on various social networking sites and forums fans are singing the praises of the Lambert effect, which is all very well and good, but we must also credit the board for sticking by their word and giving the manager the support and financial backing the club was desperately in need of. It’s amazing that up until a few months ago many fans believed that Randy Lerner had taken this club as far as he could—but now it’s all forgotten.
Over the weekend one of my friends, a Spurs fan, asked me, “So Ryan, where do you think Villa will finish this season?” Jokingly I responded “top four.” But later on that evening I was thinking to myself what would I classify as a successful season this term if I were to be realistic. Is a top-eight finish asking for too much? I’d love to hear the thoughts of fans as to what they’re expecting next season.
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