The Power (and lack of) Belief

So, 25 games in and instead of looking to push for a top-half finish, we`re staring that old “relegation battle” chestnut in the face again. I thought we were supposed to be past all that by now!

The reasons for our current (or should I say continuing) plight are legion, but I`d say a large number of issues could be attributed to a lack of belief; from the chairman, from the manager, from the players.

This may be a conceptual argument and might not fly with everyone, but I feel it`s a valid issue that is longstanding in all endeavours in life, especially in the field of sport. Put simply; without belief, there is no success. In anything. If you don`t believe in yourself or your cause, what`s the point? Money? Wages? If you`re content to give 4-5/10 performances more often than not, you shouldn`t be in the game, let alone in the team. It could be argued that the wages aren`t as extravagant as they were in the “glory days” of Mr. O`Neill, but I`m sure everyone who interacts with this forum would gladly take £10-15K a week (I`m sure they`re all on a higher number than that) to play for Aston Villa. In fairness, I`m sure most of the young lads in the squad appreciate this viewpoint too, so what is the point here……well, if you take money out of the equation, because there`s still enough of it to go round, why play football professionally?

Aside from the “enjoyment”, it`s because the players BELIEVE they can. Money is a by-product of being good enough to do it professionally, and to be good enough to play professionally, it comes down to self-belief. It`s the basis of every underdog/comeback success story in the world. It`s why Man United won the treble. It`s why Liverpool came back from 3-0 down to win a Champions League final. It`s why England consistently lose penalty shoot-outs. It all comes down to belief.

My theory is that there is a lack of belief at Villa Park, and has been since Martin O`Neill left the club. Why? Because the chairman no longer believes a strong financial investment in Aston Villa will be good for him. He has employed a manager who has bought an ideology to buy “young and hungry” which seems poetic on the footballing side, but economically (which is ALWAYS going to be the chairman`s true perspective) it`s an absolute masterstroke, or at least, the best way to stop your fingers from getting burned again.

Paul Lambert is fulfilling this ideology because he believes he`s hit the meal ticket at Aston Villa. Why else would you cause a stink to leave a club like Norwich if you weren`t on for a bigger salary? Above all, Paul Lambert is looking after Paul Lambert, he`s not looking after Aston Villa. If he was, we`d have heard about bust-ups with the chairman over a lack of transfer funds and we`d have seen a lot more activity in the January window (also, does anyone else wonder why we hear that we`ll be strengthening the squad and then we sign players on loan? Would you expect to successfully build a house if you had to keep giving the bricks back?) I could be wrong, and there may be heated discussions behind closed doors, but as long as the manager continues to obey the chairman, we will be fighting for mid-table mediocrity for the foreseeable.

The players lack sufficient belief to win games at Villa Park. I don`t believe this to be a case of inexperience or youth, because these players have proven that they`re capable of beating the big sides. I believe that they don`t have full confidence in the manager, or themselves. We haven`t been able to record back-to-back wins at all so far this season, so what`s happening between games? How do we go from taking 3 points at Sunderland to getting kicked out of the FA Cup at home to Sheffield United? How do we go from a great performance at Anfield and derby bragging rights to losing the next 2 games? Fans and players alike may well say “we should be beating teams like Sheffield United and Crystal Palace”, but the flipside of that is that their supporters may well say “there`s no way we should be beating teams like Villa”. Sadly the latter is no longer a plausible sentence, as it seems we are equally as able to lie down for anyone as well as standing up to them. The players don`t believe because the manager doesn`t believe. Paul Lambert must know when he`s in that dressing room that he`s not sitting down with Ronaldo, Messi or Wes Hoolahan, and that probably reflects upon the players. Diamonds are made under pressure, but so too is excrement. If the players don`t believe in themselves, each other or their own abilities, there will never be progress. Just more highlights of great goals being scored against us.

The cause and effect wave that this lack of belief creates feeds down the chain of command, instructions are given, orders are taken, tasks are carried out and at the end of the day, because of the hypothetical above-mentioned issues, the fans have no belief in the club, the players, the manager or the chairman. Everyone`s individual reality is subjective, but the objective view of 35-40,000+ paying customers is not to be ignored. As a result, few people turn up to Villa Park expecting a thrilling show, exciting football or, even worse, 3 points. The fact of the matter is that teams who were once our equals (Everton, Chelsea, Man City, Tottenham) have surpassed us technically and financially. This is not something to be snorted at. Bill Kenwright doesn`t freely dip his hands into his pockets either, but he had the same manager for 10 years who kept Everton competitive and now they look to be attempting to take a further step with Roberto Martinez. Chelsea, Man City and Tottenham have had significant investment and have played great football for it, although Tottenham look to be going through the old “transitional period”.

One way or another, there needs to be a fresh injection of belief at this club. Paul Lambert may or may not be the man to enforce that belief, but if we`re in the same position we are now at this stage next season I`d say it was time for both chairman and manager to leave the club and hand over the reins to someone who believes that Aston Villa can be a dominant force once again. I believe that this regime clearly doesn`t.

Never underestimate the power of belief. Belief is why the Premier League champions are 15 points away from the top of the table. Belief is why Southampton are 9th. Belief is why Sheffield United knocked us out. Belief is why Luis Suarez signed a new deal at Liverpool. Belief is why players are plucked from nowhere and become megastars. Belief is why managers are sacked and players are sold. Belief is why chairmen choose whether or not to spend money.

Classic business strategy: the ideas come from the top and are implemented downward. It`s time for some new ideas at Aston Villa. This is just what I believe.