Most Significant Summer In History?

Its a phrase that we seem to spout out at the Villa at the end of each season but I honestly believe that this summer is and will be one of, if not, the most significant in the clubs recent history.

I said a couple of years back that if we wasn’t careful we could turn ourselves into Coventry, never winning anything, never going down but sitting in mid-table with the odd flirt with the drop, nobody noticing that we even exist in the division as we just float along making no impression whatsoever until eventually we go down.

Not since John Gregory has the club really had backing from the board. Yes Graham Taylor was given money to spend but we all know that the majority of it if not all of it was wasted and the team was never improved. DOL was not really back in his 1st season and although he managed to pull off a great bit of business in getting Nobby Solano for peanuts the team wasn’t really improved from GT’s reign albeit a little bit more organised.

David O’Leary was not backed in the following summer and therefore let down by the board and prevented from building on an encouraging 1st season in charge. As a result injuries ruined last season and upto now this season has been pretty wasted imo.

So looking back the team has hardly received any major improvement over the last 5 years so is it any wonder we have been in the bottom half of the table for the best part of 2 seasons. Very rarely have we seen quality being signed by the club with the majority of the time more average players being brought into the club on low wages in the hope that on their day they will do a little bit more than we can expect from them which hopefully pushes into the top 6 and Europe.

This as we know has not happened and yet again our league position is likely to drop from the previous season.

It has been said many times before but I genuinely believe that if the current rot is not stopped come the summer it will be us joining the Blose or the Baggies in the fizzy pop league the season after next.

The worst thing will be that the fans have seen it coming a mile off yet the Chairman with all his business nouse has been oblivious to it and plods on losing money year in year out believing that by giving the manager 4m net each summer we will improve enough to make the top 4 and the Champions League with which he craves.

I prey that something happens to this great club of ours to put the spark back into the club, to give us all the buzz of coming back down to Villa Park, to look forward to the matches again knowing were in with a chance of winning something and challenging for honours.

At the moment were a million miles away from even the likes of Blackburn and Bolton let alone Arsenal and Chelsea so something has to be done else this time next year we will be a million miles away from Fulham and Charlton!

By WH Taylor