It seems like only yesterday that Villans everywhere were celebrating Aston Villa’s lifting of the UEFA Europa League trophy, with dreams that manager Unai Emery would continue to lead us to even more success and greatness – but this summer transfer window has slightly piste in everyone’s pot.
Our ending of a long 44 year wait to taste European glory and success once again has paled into insignificance given the almost implosive nature of our big money sales so far this summer. We are used to B6’s revolving door under Emery, our manager is very ‘particular’ and has a Liam Neeson level of a ‘set of skills’ that he requires from each player. It can take some of them over six months before they will get more than a tickle of regular first team action, and for others, mentioning no Harvey Elliott’s, they do not even get that.
Ahead of the much anticipated Freiburg final, there were references to this being the last time this group of players could likely lift a trophy together. The good money and the best betting offers clearly suggested change and fans were more than aware that we needed to clean out the assembled deadwood, bring down the average age of the group, and refresh our options this summer – but nobody (seemingly not even the club who agreed to the sales) saw an exodus of this kind coming.
We were even prepared for it, Monchi’s Financial Fair Play plate spinning with youngsters seemed to be over, with Roberto Olabe coming in for his first window with an eye on gems. Morgan Rogers’ sale may even have been planned when we knew we would book in excess of £100 million in pure profit for the rebuild, but Youri ‘Emery’s Son’ Tieleman’s cannot have been part of that plan. Then it went a little wrong.
Ezri Konsa cannot have been part of that plan, nor Ollie Watkins and then we saw Zion Suzuki arrive, even though we had been told Emi Martinez was not going where – not even if Juventus stopped moaning like an old lady and actually coughed up some real cash.
This was not the rebuild we had planned, it cannot have been mainly, proven by the fact we seemingly appear to have no idea who to replace Konsa with – other than Joel Ordonez, Taylor Harwood-Bellis or Jean-Clare Todibo – none of whom are anywhere near happening given the season has started , Watkins’ replacement is the monthly mention of Nicolas Jackson and now we will sell Martinez, there does not appear to be anyone to buy him.
Our historic association with Ansell’s is very appropriate right now given they were a brewery.
In Unai we trust, but for the love of everything that is meaningful in life, could we once – just once – maybe try and do something, anything, a single solitary thing, without picking the hardest, most difficult and most disruptive path available to us, instead of the one – any one option – that is maybe slightly easier.
Please…just once…maybe try it out for a new experience?
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