This is my first piece ever anywhere so please take it easy on me, this is just my opinion which has changed after the last two games and after some thought.
Why do we think we have the god given right to be challenging the top six?
Is it because we have won the European Cup?
Is it because we have won the league in the past?
Is it because we were one of the founder members of the league?
You see we don’t have an owner who has buckets full of cash, so he can’t throw the sort of money that some expect us to be able to just to get us where people think we should be. Randy Lerner has made a lot of mistakes in the past, and it could be argued that they are catching up with him now, but from what I can see he is doing his best to keep us solvent and operational at the very least.
Without the pressures of banks and interest, Villa are not at the mercy of external lenders, leaving the club in a more stable state, which is a lot more than many other clubs out there who are struggling with severe amounts of debt.
We might not be challenging at the very top at present, or even in the top six, and we may not set the January transfer window alight, but that’s not all down to Lerner. The world, as a whole, has changed since Randy Lerner brought the club, and he has suffered financially because of it – the guy just doesn’t have the cash needed to turn our fortunes round mid season.
I have been guilty of calling for heads and trying to start protests, but in the cold light of day where will that get us? A change in manager means a contract to pay off, followed by more disruption, which is far from ideal when we need stability for a period of time after recent seasons. Ironically if McLeish was to be sacked, it could be the final nail in Villa’s season so far.
My view on the manager hasn’t changed, but my view on what’s best for my club has and after all, this is the most important thing THE CLUB !
Supporting Villa Is What The Club Needs Now
What our club needs at the minute is support. It needs the fans behind it as the next few months are going to be as rocky as the start of this season. What would make it easier, and would appease a lot of people, is if we knew there was a plan. T tend think there must be somewhere, after all, you don’t own a football club without a plan, but the frustration for us as fans is we don’t know what that plan is.
The last two games, while a loss and a bore draw, have both been completely different performances than the ones we have seen earlier in the season. This gives us hope that we could move up the table, and this change is exactly what we needed to see in a period where everyone is understandably frustrated and angry.
Being at the Arsenal game, the atmosphere was the best this season, and the fans wanted to get behind the team. This reality seems to look totally different to what you regularly read on some of the other blogs.
The situation is what it is at present, and there is nothing anyone of us can do about the manager or owner now. We can stop renewing our tickets next year if we choose to, but we all know that the reality that leaves us in is with a weaker club and a weaker set of finances. This won’t help us move forwards.
So what’s done is done, but our support could still have a massive impact the back end of the season. If you can attend games, I urge you to do so and support us. You may not agree with what is going on, with the owner and/or the manager, but our badge needs us now more than ever. Positivity breeds positivity, and the vocal backing of the fans clearly impacts the players. You only had to look at Stephen Ireland against Arsenal to see that players respond to support and are affected by boos and negativity. So let’s try and play a part, and then we can say we made a difference!
Our support has been acclaimed nationally, both home and away throughout the years, so let’s remind all that come to Villa Park, why!
Who knows, we could even surprise a few with a strong finish, as stranger things have happened.
Onwards and upwards, and UTV!
The Author
