How can a giant of a club the size of Aston Villa, a European Cup winning club – competing for Champions League qualification in recent years, have such a fall of grace in such a short amount of time. Also, how can the club solve such a problem – well that’s what I’m going to try to figure out.
Villa, now second bottom of the Premier League are a dynamic force when considering the size of the club. The history the club has and the academy graduates that we have carved in previous years. Many forget that we have produced Champions League winners like Gary Cahill and also England Internationals like Daniel Sturridge. Those are the type of players we need to keep if we want to be successful in the long term. We can’t keep selling our top youth prospects without giving them a chance in the first team set-up. We may have already missed out on one talent in 15 year-old Daniel Crowley who has recently moved to Arsenal. Keeping the likes of Jack Grealish, Callum Robinson and Easah Suliman shows we are at least making some steps in the right direction, with the latter having strong interest from Bayern Munich before signing a pre-contract with the club. The more of these kind of players make it through to the first team the better. It is also better if the manager openly accommodates the youngsters too, unlike Lambert.
Recruitment is an vital part of the game we love and follow. We need to start following the activities of clubs such as Borussia Dortmund. They pride themselves on excellent recruitment. This can be the difference between a top 10 finish or Champions League qualification, if done correctly of course. The best players in the world come from all over the world, so we ideally need a scout in every continent.
Data analysis is another big part of the game nowadays, and these services are being used more and more, especially in the recruitment realm of the footballing world. I believe using the blend of both traditional methods and modern techniques is the best method to source young, promising talent.
It is rumored that a Director of Football will be entering the club in due course to help Tim Sherwood with sourcing and developing quality players coming into the side. We are in desperate need of a DOF, so this is pleasing news.
Randy Lerner seems totally unable to employ the right manager. Time and time again he has employed the wrong man for the job, and time. This doesn’t just effect the team tactically but mentally too, with the negativity of Paul Lambert obviously seeping through the team. The players have lost all confidence in their own ability. Ever since he was appointed it seems to have just been a spiraling staircase down to the 2nd tier of English football. With Tim Sherwood at the helm I believe things will change. However, I think this appointment has more of Tom Fox’s opinion in it rather than Randy Lerner’s.
Ultimately, to get our team to the top of the pile again, it’ll take hard work from everyone at the club, from the scouts to the players. That is something that must come from Randy Lerner and Tim Sherwood. Money always helps speed up the process of becoming a top club, but with financial fair play in place it’s difficult to see the real point in wanting a new owner. Realistically, what can a new owner bring to the table? Besides, of course, money.
