Unfortunately last weekend I was unable to find my way to a laptop to pick up some dodgy pirate channel to watch Villa in action at White Hart Lane. Not because there were no links available, but because I got in from a night out on Sunday at 11am, and then slept pretty much the rest of the day! We’ve all been there, right? And that’s why this week’s article will not really focus too much on a match for which I’ve only seen the highlights.
Looking at them, we were well in with a shot of getting something from the game, and if Christian Benteke had headed in that glorious opportunity at the start of the second half then the game may well have panned out very differently for us. Perhaps a much more experienced, proven goal scorer like Darren Bent would have put it away. Probably.
On the back of our £24 million striker being left on the bench yet again, Stan Collymore posted an article to the Daily Mirror online on Monday in which he suggests that it may be in Villa’s best interests to sell Bent this summer: “I’m not advocating selling Bent in January, even if there are clearly some issues between him and the manager. I would say, keep him until next summer, he’ll get his 15-20 goals, and then let him go if we can realise anywhere near his value.”
Stan continues by comparing Lambert to David Moyes, and that working on a tight budget is what they both do very well. He goes onto predict that Villa will be back competing for a Europa League place in two or three seasons.
I think the real question mark at the club is the future financing. As fans we’re happy under the guidance of Lambert, a man who can turn the club’s fortunes around; we just need to have patience and get behind the team as best we can. He’s trying to get us to play football the right way, and should everything click into place then we should move in the right direction in no time. My concern is where the owner sees us going; without spending power in today’s game then it’s highly unlikely we’ll see Villa pushing for those European places for the foreseeable future.
I’m hoping that behind the scenes there is a genuine plan of a sort. A plan that gives Lambert a fair crack of the whip at the biggest and most expectant club he has managed to date.
In the immediate future what do we see happening in January? This may depend on where we find ourselves in the table. Lerner was quick to splash the cash on Bent when Villa were languishing around the relegation zone in January 2011. If Villa are in some disarray come this next transfer window then would he give shoestring Lambert a true amount of money to spend on players with some proven pedigree? I no longer know what to make of the powers that be.
International football will be taking centre stage this weekend and midweek, and so we won’t be back in action until Saturday 20th October when we’ll be travelling to Craven Cottage to face a tricky Fulham side. It is a winnable match in my books, and so I’m expecting a strong performance and a positive outcome.
Up The Villa.
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