A weekend off you say. Most of the time in recent weeks, I’d have been glad of such a suggestion. After all – when you struggle to win games, the last thing you really want to watch is yet another attempt to get a draw.
Last week, whilst nobody can really call the win against Fulham “a breeze”, it was a win, and I’ll take wins any day of the week in our current circumstance. Make no doubt about it, wins are wins whether the goals come in the first few minutes or the last few. Lucky or assured, easy or hard, a win is a win, and the more times we can take three points rather than one or zero, the better.
Disappointing To Be Nothing On A Saturday
Other have touched upon it in the comments section, but I have to agree the lack of Saturday 3pm kick offs nowadays disappoints me. Perhaps my view of football at the weekend is a traditional one – of wearing your colours, of making sure you have a proper meal in you before you get down the game, and of it all being over by 5pm.
So when we play at random times due to TV coverage, or because of other reasons, it’s a shame. Sky will tell you that the reason they don’t broadcast 3pm matches is two fold – first it apparently stops people from attending matches, and secondly, it doesn’t fit viewing habits.
For me, neither makes much sense. I mean, if you’re going to go to a match, you’re going to go to a match and whether it is at 3pm or not, I doubt you are going to just say “I’ll stay at home because it’s on at three and not five.” – if you are the kind of supporter who attends games, you attend games, and the time is (mostly irrelevant). If you’re the kind who watches it on TV, then you’re going to either make time, or miss it.
So I don’t get why broadcasters think 3pm games don’t suit the schedule or viewing habits. If you’re a football fan, surely you realise that games are played at that time, and that you have to follow the rules of that. If you’re not available, you can’t watch them – simple really. What would do these people expect? “Oh shift it till it’s 1pm on a Sunday – I can fit in a game before my Sunday roast, love.”? Honestly? Just keep it simple as the old saying goes.
Anyay, getting back to Aston Villa, and their lack of any competitive action this side of the weekend, it has given us time to reflect. What we are reflecting on specifically isn’t clear cut, but it mostly is about signings and the manager, and the future. That will all roll out as time goes on though, so I’ll avoid going into all that again.
Bolton – A Chance To Take Some More Points
We’ll look ahead at Bolton, even though it isn’t just yet, and have high hopes of a win. Yes, we drew against Blackburn and Wigan, but I’ve got faith we are going to give it a good go this time. Some might call it optimism, others insanity or stupidity, but it’s Bolton for God’s sake – and we need the points.
Which isn’t to say that we somehow didn’t need the points in other matches, but I think Villa, often lazy in pressing, realise that if they don’t pull their finger out now and make an effort, it’ll be bad news come the end of the season. I appreciate that footballers are often mercenary, realising that relegation often has little impact on their personal career, but I like to think there is enough pride in the squad to at least try to win – for self-respect at least.
After the Bolton game, things will get harder in terms of matches, but as the past few years have shown, unexpected results happen. Many didn’t predict the Arsenal and Liverpool wins at the tail end of last season, but we got them and we finished 9th. With the table being so tight this year again, it’s not impossible to see a similar things happening, and for Villa to finish in between 8th and 12th which was my start of the season prediction.
It may not happen, sure, but it might do. You see, that’s the beauty of the the future – it’s what you want to make of it. We’re not going to be able to play the matches for the club, but we can decide how we want to live our lives in the meantime. The situation may be far from ideal, but I will spend my time looking forward to the Bolton match with hope, rather than worrying we are going to get beaten. I’ve no idea what will happen, but I’ll do my damndest to make sure my life is as happy as it can be regardless.
After all, football may well be one of my passions, but I won’t let it control my happiness. Yes, I’ll be upset and angry when we lose, but I’m not going to whip myself up into a frenzy. Looking back it won’t have been a vintage season but, believe me, it could have been a lot worse. Be grateful for the fact we’re not in the situations that Glasgow Rangers, Portsmouth, Port Vale, or Darlington have been this year.
The future might not be as bright as some might like, but at least we actually have a future and, hopefully, it will get better this summer.
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