My final post of 2018. The next time I write something it will be a new year filled with new hope and optimism. It won't really, it will just be another day and another looking forward or back at something that happened or we hope will.
And I wrote about 2018 and Aston Villa here, so this post is about yesterday and 2019. I'm going to make some bold predictions, some serious ones and some not so serious. I'll let you decide which is which.
But first, we have to look at Preston and well, it wasn't what we were hoping for but some might say it was coming. We were fortunate to pick up three points against Swansea, considering the penalty save and I think we were unlucky yesterday to not have all three but also quite fortunate to be in the position that we could have won the game.
You could say the players were tired. That might explain why whenever a Preston player got the ball they hit it long, but I don't buy that tired player argument. Seriously, it's their only job and to suggest that they get tired after running around for ninety minutes three days a week is a little much.
I'll go so far as to say it's made up and I'm really not going to entertain it. And if someone wants to argue this with me, then I'll go so far as to say that the Club is not doing their job correctly if a player is tired.
We didn't win yesterday because we didn't deserve it. Some might even say we were lucky to get a point. Me, I can see why Preston are where they are and I suspect new manager syndrome is starting to wear off. I mean, after 25 games last season we had four more points and we were two places higher in the League, but all that will change soon and we can't expect miracles in the managers not even first full season.
Match highlights
2019 is going to be our year
So, the easy part here would be to make a list and start making predictions, but that isn't going to be fun, so I'll do it my way. The first thing I want to predict is that we're not going to be promoted. Now, that might sound contradictory and it is, but new manager syndrome is also starting to wear off for me. And that shouldn't be seen as negative towards the manager.
And the reason I'm writing it is that it is a big ask for any manager to win promotion when they don't have a full season. And you know what, I'm not going to be that disappointed about not going up either for that exact reason. We can't expect to change a manager and then get promoted. But if we did ... what a party.
But some supporters are going to expect it. They're going to expect a new manager to come in and get us promoted. That is why in 2019 there will be some supporters that start suggesting the manager isn't right. Some have already started questioning his decisions and he's only had a few games, no transfer window and no real time to get his views across.
For the record, Dean Smith is my manager. But Aston Villa fans, some will never be happy.
But most will also see Dean Smith as their manager too. He's a local boy and he wants the team to play a certain way. He did at Walsall and he did at Brentford. Now, this doesn't mean he's going to be successful at Aston Villa. Let me be clear, he's won nothing and he's shown potential.
But you have to believe and given the resources, you have to hope. It's a little like Jack. And seeing as I brought up Jack if we don't go up this season, Jack will be joining Spurs next summer. And we have to let things like that happen.
And next month and next summer, we're going to see the manager bring in a player or two that he's managed before. It's the players that he's not managed before that are brought into the Club that will be the ones that tell us how good a manager Dean Smith is. And when we're playing in the Premier League, it's going to be the ambition of the owners that tell us how serious they are.
So, to summarise, Jack will leave, we'll not go up and we're going to sign a Brentford player or two. Oh and some Aston Villa fans will start moaning, just because that is what some Aston Villa fans do. But it's QPR up next and we need to win this match and you know what, I think we will. I mean, it's only QPR and second choice Steve.