Villa Have More than One Question Mark After January

So, wherever Villa end up, it’s a big second half. Everyone will expect us to climb strongly. Getting a European spot is a big, big ask, though. Possible, but not likely. If it happens, all good. If it doesn’t, I expect at least one more summer and season to try and get us there without a reset. Which could mean a round of big changes at more than one level.

The shine on Gerrard will depend mightily on how this plays out. Villa have done smart business, so it’s not as though the future has been mortgaged. But as elated as everyone is at the moment seeing Coutinho in a Villa shirt, the hard parts are yet to come.

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by John Clark February 1, 2022
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Have Sawiris and Edens Changed Villa’s Remit?

Villa have gotten in one player this window we’d never have expected, another quality signing in Digne, perhaps another big surprise, a CB prospect in Kerr Smith, a reasonable #2 in Robin Olsen, and it’s anything but a normal January.

Everyone is rightly asking what all this means. There’s SG being backed versus Dean (ie, the Grealish money + what we’d have considered our expected summer spending outside that windfall); NSWE’s short- and long-term ambitions; and Villa’s previous recruitment/development strategy. Sure I’m leaving something out.

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by John Clark January 20, 2022
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Villa’s January Business So Far, and the Damn United Again

Villa’s January business says NSWE, Steven Gerrard, or both, are looking for immediate impact, it seems. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if they make a noticeable impact. You can’t have an entire team of projects, after all. Perhaps Phil and Lucas offer enough experience and nous to help the team’s mindset, never mind the set-up.

Whether this illustrates a demand for European places this year, can’t say. Whether this is meant to pre-empt sides like Newcastle? Can’t say. Whether this is part of the promises made to Gerrard to convince him to come, can’t say. Could very well be all of the above.

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by John Clark January 13, 2022
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