Vår man på Holte End
Michael summerar en rakt igenom medioker säsong och ger sin syn på turbulensen inom klubben.
I suppose that the first thing to say after a season like that is, thank Christ it is over. There can be no doubt that the season has been an absolute disaster. Nobody thought that we would finish fifth from the bottom only 3 points away from being relegated and having been beaten twice by those village idiots from Small Heath.
We had a crap start to the season, losing at home to Lille in the Intertoto Cup and things did not get any better. There were too many low points to list but a few of them are worth mentioning. Lets face it, Small Heath are a bunch of bastards and to have suffered two defeats when we didn’t even score a goal is a disgrace that will take years to live down. We now have to face the sub humans stating how they are the biggest club in the midlands. They normally shut up when they are asked what they have won during the last 100 years. (The answer is, ‘Nothing’), but to be honest, they have been better than us this season.
For Villa to have only won one away game all season is a joke, even Albion did better than us away from home. It has not even been because we have been unlucky, just crap. The performances have been extremely poor and we have got exactly what we deserved.
Home results have been average at best and these are the reason that we have not been relegated, but those ‘giants’ of English football such as Southampton, Blackburn and Tottenham have beaten us at Villa Park. Even at home, the football has mostly been crap, which is why attendances have been down and the atmosphere is so bad. The Holte could normally be relied on to create some noise but over the last few seasons, as the team have got worse, Villa Park has turned into one of the quietest grounds in the division. In that respect we are no different to most grounds, as the football gets worse, the crowds get lower and quieter.
Six or seven years ago, Villa were a top six club regularly qualifying for Europe and having a few good domestic cup runs. We are now a bottom six club, regarded as an easy touch by the rest of the division. We have been overtaken by almost everybody else. This has probably been building up for the last 5 seasons, since the last days of Atkinson’s reign. Though it is easy to argue that Villa has gone rapidly backwards since 1982 with the occasional successful spell.
And now we find ourselves, having had the worst season for over ten years and once again without a manager. Maybe it is no surprise that times have been tough when a club loses managers every two years. Nobody is surprised that GT has gone, though, the circumstances are not clear (like Little and Gregory’s departure). Taylor has had to endure a lot of criticism during his second spell at Villa and a lot of it has been deserved as he has made a lot of mistakes and at the end of the day, if the football is shit, then the manager must accept the blame. We have let Merson and Boateng go without being replaced and bought a number of players who are simply not good enough. When he was appointed Taylor said that we would be playing attacking football and would go all out to win games rather than settle for draws. Unfortunately this did not happen and Villa have been regularly outplayed. There is a curious statistic that Villa have had the most off target shots in the division during the season.
Whilst Taylor must accept most of the blame, there were a lots of problems left by the last manager. We were left with a lot of expensive players who were either no good or didn’t want to play for Villa (or both). One of the most believable rumours for Taylor going is that he wanted to offload several players who cost millions but Deadly and his henchmen would not allow it as it would affect the finances of the club. For all Taylor’s faults, he is an honest man with a lot of honour and he has said that the club is not being run properly. Those at the top are more concerned with their own self-interest rather than the good of the team. Most fans are not unhappy that GT has gone, but once again it raises questions about Ellis and the board. There are some that think that GT should have been given more time to see how the team developed next season. In his first spell at the club, it took a few years before we saw the best of Taylor’s team.
Who is going to want to manage a team like Villa with the present Chairman, a poor team, unhappy players and no money ? It will take a miracle to turn Villa into a major force. Favourites seem to be Curbishley (again), O’Leary and Platt. Even Bryan Robson and George Graham have been mentioned. I think it will take a mad man or a desperate man to accept the job. On past form, whoever it is will have two seasons at most before leaving under a cloud of controversy. Knowing Doug’s record of recruiting managers, don’t put any money on the next one bringing any success. Maybe he will make himself manager (or that twat Ansell). One thing is for sure, while all the shit is flying both of them are keeping their head down. Normally you can’t keep Deadly off the TV. But over the last few days, he has sent the tea boy Phil Mepham (public relations man) out to talk to the press.
To try to end on a less gloomy note, the players that are deserving of praise are Barry, (player of the year) who has been outstanding all season and Mellberg, who is richly deserving of the captaincy. Both Players can do far better than the Villa. To a lesser degree, Hitz and Johnsen have both done pretty well as has Jlloyd when he is played in the right position. Special praise should go to Allback for keeping us up with his goals at the end of the season (why was he not playing earlier ?).
Last but not least, a big thank you to Dublin for dropping the nut on that odious bluenose bastard Savage. Savage, who is the most detested player in English football makes out he is a tough guy. He didn’t look so tough as Dublin waded in. For that one incident, what a wonderful season it has been !
Villa for the title next season ? Its got to be worth a few Krona ?
