I know now what people are going to say in the comments about this post, but that will be the people that don't read it to the end, so I'm going to get this out of the way right at the top; It's all good, but it's probably not going to be as good as we'd like.
You see, as things stand there are lots of changes happening and regular readers will know that change in football scares me because change doesn't happen just by bringing in new players and it takes time. Don't get me wrong, change is usually good but as someone that works with change, I can also tell you that getting it right first time is rare.
And as things stand for Aston Villa, we've lost important players and we will have, quite possibly by the start of the new season half a new starting eleven. To top this all off, we've got a manager and CEO that are doing this for the first time.
I don't think I put enough emphasis on that last part. This is the first time that our CEO or our manager have dealt with a summer transfer window and we just assume they will get it right?
From when Sherwood joined Aston Villa to where we finished last season, he moved us one place. On top of that we've lost Benteke and The Snake, not to mention the goalkeeper that finished the season as first choice and a central defender that when fit, we'd all have liked to start and was arguably the best defender at the World Cup last summer.
More players coming
I'm just saying. Right now we've got three new players we'd all expect to start. There is talk that the deal for Jordan Ayew is now done and that there are one or two more on their way very soon and all these players are expected to gel by the time we kick off on August 8th because everyone knows the manager isn't going to buy squad players.
Not only do they have to gel but Sherwood has to get his tactics, coaching and managerial responsibilities just right. But what happens if the strategy rests on these new players, but one gets injured or it doesn't work. What happens if there is friction between the new players and the old players. What happens if it doesn't work as hoped, their characters are tested and it all falls apart. What happens if they can't pick themselves up and go again?
Sherwood time
Look, you all knew I was surprised when Sherwood was confirmed. I thought he'd be someone to give the job to after we had confirmed our Premier League survival, but I wasn't convinced he had the experience to keep us up. Well, I was wrong and I'm happy he's going to get this chance, but shouldn't he have to qualify his managerial and coaching ability first before dismantling an entire squad and spending all this money?
That's a serious question and one I think will be answered by December and again, I hope to be put in my place.
And for what it's worth, I don't think Sherwood will get us relegated or that we'll struggle, but that's very much blind optimism at the moment, because the truth is none of us know how this is going to turn out. I want him to do well, because as I wrote last season, you can't not like Tim Sherwood.
But, it's now another ride we just have to hold on for. It's definitely been an interesting pre-season and there is plenty more to come in this transfer window. I just hope Sherwood and Fox know what they're doing or that they're seeking the right advice and I don't mean from the likes of Collymore and his offer, but from people that understand the bigger picture.
It sort of looks like they have and it's refreshing to see business getting done early, but there has to be someone that writes what I know others have been thinking.