Villa’s 2-0 win over Everton was a big day for the club, as well as the loud, joyous crowd rocking Villa Park. We’ve waited a damn long time for Premier League win. It was also a pretty big day for Wesley Moraes. And Jack won’t mind talk of that silly stat coming to an end.
Villa are now 0-2 to start life back in the Premier League, and some are starting to worry a bit following the home defeat to Bournemouth. But to be fair, there are more who aren’t. Who’s right? Maybe everyone. Fact is, whatever the optimism everyone felt during the Summer of Spending, Villa were always facing a tough test.
So how will Villa step back onto to the big stage? Be wonderful to get something, and I know Dean will have been working the team all week with that in mind, but really it will be about the performance and character. Points will be a bonus. Which isn’t to say I don’t think we can come away with something. But it’s all going to be a bit faster, and every player in the other shirt is going to be of that much higher quality than we’ve been used to.
The extreme summer makeover, as we also all know, was going to happen whether we were promoted or not. The only difference is that promotion meant we had a lot more money to spend. The real question will be whether—after all that spending—we can score enough.
Despite some criticism of our business, the football’s looking good, and much more coherent than might be expected. There’ve been some lovely moves and passages of play. But that’s what you can get when you have a philosophy, good scouting, and only recruit players who fit.
