Now before I carry on, excuse the irony. As you all know, I am Mr. Positive and forever look on the bright side of everything, and the rediscovered positivity around the club finally makes me a happy fan. The feel-good factor around Aston Villa is brilliant and it feels like everything to do with the Villa at the minute is buzzing, but…

Let’s not pretend

The problems that we had within the team are still there. We have signed a few players, two of which are in positions highlighted as a problem, and one of which who is, let’s not pretend, a gamble an educated one no less.

Now I don’t want to burst the bubble, but let’s get real for a minute. The playing staff that we had last season were not up to it. Does Paul Lambert have a magic wand that is going to make them into the players we need or should be? I am confident Lambert will have some effect on the playing staff but are we honestly saying that the whole team is going to be rejuvenated to such an extent that the failures of last season are removed?

Concern

Now before anyone jumps down my throat, I am aware there is time in the window yet and I am aware that some players may be shipped out, but is no one else concerned that we are being linked to players either young and hungry (good thing), or players from abroad with little or no Premier League experience (risk).

You see, our experienced pros in important positions never performed last season and are we really going to rely on them to work alongside players with little experience and speaking different languages?

I love the fact we are signing young, hungry players and the imports from abroad, and when adding them to a team littered with a number of performing, seasoned and experienced pros it can make a team dangerous and exciting. But you see the problem with us is can we honestly, hand on heart, say we have enough of the seasoned pros to perform at the top level and lead the new signings and youth to success?

The main area of concern for me is on the defensive side of the team and it needs addressing sharpish. Pre-season starts and before you know it we will be into the West Ham game. I am confident it will be addressed at some point, but the concern is genuine. Time is ticking away and targets are lacking the experience we need surely? Am I the only one that, underneath all the hype, positivity, and europhia, is just a little bit concerned?

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