In times of crisis, it can be very easy for people to turn on each other, rather than deal with the situation at hand. The cashflow problems and the prospect of a HMRC winding-up order hanging over the club makes it inevitable that tensions will be fraught as uncertainty reigns.
As fans though, this is a time where unity is absolutely key. I will refrain from speaking too much about the financial situation and possible takeovers as there is so much we don’t know, but when things are as serious as they apparently are, we need to ensure that the club and those running it are held to account.
It can be easier to switch off the TV or skip past website reports that talk about the club’s current predicament, but I think it’s important to make sure we don’t bury our heads and hope this all blows over.
When we lost the playoff final, I was bracing myself for a very hard summer. The £40millon we needed to make up to avoid sanctions from Financial Fair Play was always going to lead to some tough decisions, but those decisions have been amplified multiple times during the past 24-48 hours.
Things could turn more positive in a matter of days, I don’t know, but we have to be prepared for the worst, and fight for our club if things do go south very quickly. This club has 140 years of proud history, and it’s hard to believe that administration is even being talked about, but we are standing very close to a precipice at the moment.
As the saying goes “United we stand, Divided we fall.” You may feel a bit helpless about what is happening now, but to get us through this crisis, it’s vital we speak with one voice and ensure the club gets out of this horrible situation in a much better state than it is now.
No matter who owns the club, Villa only exists because of those who support it. That’s the most important thing to remember right now.
And JF’s considered opinion on all this is worth a read:
