This week I am writing my weekly column from the gym. If only no longer being able to fit into my Marc Albrighton shirt from two years ago was my biggest Villa-related problem.
What happened at the Parade Ground is inexcusable. The lack of experience that some have indicated is the culprit of the team’s struggles is less of a factor now with many senior players being available again. The only glaring absence that would’ve walked into that side is Ron Vlaar.
I don’t include Stiliyan Petrov as the longer he is absent battling cancer, the less likely I fear it is we will see him in a Villa shirt again. It is a shame too because his composure is exactly what this team is missing right now.
Digressing, the time for excuses should and need to be over. The match against Southampton is the most important league game of the year. I won’t go as far as to say its the most pivotal game in years. What I have come to realize is that should the worst happen, relegation isn’t the end of the world. Of course as fans we will all be hurt, but at the end of the day there will still be a team wearing claret and blue playing in Aston. Sure our pride and reputation will take a hit, but the only people who would really suffer would be the people who work at the club who would lose their jobs. Not managers or coaches who are paid handsomely, but the people on the business side. Beyond that if Randy Lerner has to sink a bit of cash into the club like Mike Ashley he can afford it.
I am getting way ahead of myself here I admit. The club still has time to make things right. Looking at the table, QPR and Reading will have a difficult time crawling out of the drop zone. A win this weekend would go along way to ensuring safety.
The League Cup final is still a possibility. If the team can play without the weight of the world on their shoulders and the way they are capable of they could easily win 5-1 at Villa Park. Truth be told I have a sneaking suspicion Chelsea may very well put up a similar scoreline in their second leg. We all know it’s not beyond them.
I do feel that the team is playing with a burden. They want to do well so badly and prove people wrong so badly that when things go wrong they can’t handle it. I am also afraid that the players almost expect things to go wrong. The only positive is that unlike last season the team isn’t going into matches defeated.
Like many of you I’m grasping at straws. In the aftermath of Tuesday I was calling for the manager to start holding the players more accountable publicly. Perhaps throwing bats in the shower isn’t the answer. The only consensus is that what has transpired isn’t good enough.
The Author
