It’s a funny old game, so I’ll start with the truest of clichés…
A week in football can change the views of the media, fans, and players, and it remains as volatile throughout the season and off-season. Three wins can see fans screaming “Europe”, three loses can see fans screaming for the manager’s head. A new manager can walk through the door, and automatically expectation is raised or lowered without a ball being kicked.
In many instances in football the destiny of the player or manager is decided by the fans’ initial reaction; McLeish was never going to work from day one. Why? The fans.
So with that, let’s talk about our Aston Villa. Now of course I am generalising about “fans”—we are all very different people, and we would all pick different formations and teams if asked to pick a team today from the Villa squad. We all have our opinions on players that differ, but there is usually a consensus of the majority of fans over certain things. Last season the consensus was that McLeish was not wanted at the club. And with that came a vicious circle, a downward trend of support, preceded by player confidence dipping and pure survival instinct taking over.
Last season, without names, saw us spend more money, saw a new manager, and saw us buy one of the prior season’s best performers…yet expectation hit an all-time low.
This season, same circumstances: a new manager, multiple signings untested in the EPL, and a squad that is very dependent on the academy graduates to bulk out and provide cover. Yet expectation has soared.
Surely our “expectation” should have remained the same—not a whole lot has changed. Lambert has not proven anything yet and yet we’re pinning huge hopes on him. Hopes and Demands that he says he isn’t scared of, and says we have a right to have because we ARE a “big club”… All very nice, but what happens if the start is bumpy? What happens if we lose our first three? All would not be lost but these “expectations” may come back to hurt us. This confidence the players have is great, but no doubt somewhat fragile. And as Villans, we all know there is a element of twitchiness in the stands and it doesn’t take much for the boos to ring out from our “12th Man”.
Lambert is no doubt an excellent candidate for the Villa job. He no doubt talks the talk, and at Norwich at least walked the walk. But he is yet to get out of the stroller for Villa. It may take time for this Villa team to learn to walk—before we run.
We need to show an amount of patience if things aren’t going as we want initially. This willingness to give time, though, has gone out of football. If the impact isn’t instant, it would seem we are not interested. This is the wrong attitude.
I have no problem with Aspiration, Lambert has talked about this: “reach for the stars and you might get to the moon”. But many, many fans don’t understand the difference between wanting your team to do well (which we all no doubt want) and expecting unrealistic targets for the club.
But it can been seen even before the season starts—things have been quiet for a couple weeks on the transfer front, we lose one friendly, and suddenly there are posts that Lambert “needs four or five first-teamers”, demands that we go out and buy a “striker, winger, midfielder, defensive midfielder, a fullback and centre back”. Because we lost to Nottingham Forrest in a preseason friendly?
Then the negativity starts about who we’re being linked to. Bear in mind this is all media talk, and then with the criticism that Lambert is a “MON Mark II”, and is just going to overload the squad with overvalued, well-paid, average British players, fans seem to be lurching from heady heights of “doing a Newcastle” to “we’ll be lucky to get 12th”.
It does get a bit frustrating for me, as I’m sure it does for other fans.
So here’s a word of advice: Expect nothing, Demand 100% effort, and Aspire to be the best we possibly can. AND (most importantly), support your club for better or for worse.
If you think about it, this is somewhat of a marriage. You get involved young, it seems a good idea, then in your 30s you realise you’re stuck with it. You can’t change your team so make the most of it, don’t damage it further. You will find supporting Villa far easier.
Lambert is an intelligent man. This panic we are seeing at the moment could be turned quickly in overjoyed cheering with the addition of a couple of signings. Or the demolition of West Ham in two weeks’ time.
Let’s just see what fate has in store for us. Take a chill pill, relax, let Lambert earn his money, and give him the time and support to make a success of himself and, in turn, Aston Villa. None of us know his thoughts, none of us have worked with the squad, none of us know how we’re to play or perform, so let’s make judgements after we have the proof of the pudding on our plate, not on what you imagine it’s like from a picture in the menu.
Its time to break out the Valium if you can’t.
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