I'm not saying Aston Villa are going to be relegated but what I am going to say is as an Aston Villa supporter you have to brace for relegation. The chances of it are high. And to know why and it's really sad to write this, you just have to look to the owner.
And it's not as if he hasn't been told. But the truth is, it isn't as if the supporters were not told too. I don't remember the fanfare that followed the arrival of Randy Lerner but I do remember it was full of PR and I did try to warn you. But nobody listened.
But supporters don't listen to reality, just optimism. And let me be clear where Lerner has made his mistakes and let me also tell you why it's sad.
I believe Randy Lerner cares passionately about Aston Villa and that's why this whole mess is sad. Lerner doesn't want relegation but he also doesn't really understand football. Sure he has his own Club and this is all a little strange, a supporter writing this, but we all know it's true. Lerner even knows it's true. What's worse is that I'm going to tell you again where he is making his mistakes and deep down, he knows this is true too. And so do you.
The thing is, there is absolutely nothing we can do now. There is only one thing that can be done but it's extreme.
The current ongoing mistake made by Randy Lerner is the CEO and the team that he has employed around him. The CEO and he team of merry men employed this current manager and they also assembled this playing squad. The CEO is the one responsible for Aston Villa sitting bottom of the table but yes, this is because Randy Lerner made the mistake of appointing him in the first place.
Tom Fox comes from a background in selling a soft drink aimed at the sports industry. He quite literally stumbled into football. And for those that say he was a great commercial guy at Arsenal, let me tell you this; you can not fail at Arsenal in the commercial department.
There is still hope
But it's not like it's nailed on we're going down and there is still a chance. The thing is, we rolled over for Everton from kick off and the truth is I'm surprised it was only four. We went there to not concede, but nothing really changed after the first goal went in, or the second. Nothing changed at any stage during the game.
And there are some stupid people on the internet. I maintain that there should be a service you can pay for where you can only get access to it if you pass a test. And that service should be the smart internet basically where it automatically filters out comments from stupid people or news about certain subjects or people. Or better still, stupid people that don't pass the test don't get access. People that use names of former players that never played for Aston Villa as their Twitter handle. And so many others.
I write that because I made a comment yesterday on Twitter and referenced my post about why it had to be David Moyes for Aston Villa and it comes down to having Premier League experience. It took Nigel Pearson almost all of last season to figure it out (with the same players) and he's English, but some people can't grasp the obvious.
I'm not saying because Garde is French he wont get it, but it will be more difficult for him. And it's clear he hasn't figured it out yet. Klopp has figured it out at Liverpool and this is the part that most don't understand; he has the same players that Rodgers had but he's getting impressively different results. Ranieri has it figured out, but he has Premier League experience. It's not rocket science, but without Premier League experience there was always a high probability that this would happen.
Deep down, nobody should be surprised and we should hope that things can turn around and it's not as if we're massively adrift from safety. The real worry is that I'm not sure if things have ever turned around for a club with five points after thirteen games.
Sunday numbers
- While at Lyon, Garde had a 50% win ratio
- There are 25 games left to this Premier League season
I put these numbers there for you to see because we need to start winning and very soon. Tipping point is actually this year. And it's worth pointing out that while Garde had a 50% win ratio at Lyon, the club in the ten tears before he arrived had a 50% win ratio - he changed very little. Let's hope he can change things at Aston Villa.
If you believe in a God and that your God has the power to change things, now might be a good time to get on your knees and start praying.
The match
Before I leave this though, I should write about the match but it will be quick, because the result confirms for you that it was poor. It was like we had Lambert or Sherwood managing the team. We didn't want to lose. And I've just read something about the average position of our players and we only had one player with an average position in the opposition half.
We were basically too narrow and didn't want to win. We didn't go for it. We started with Grealish and Gil as holding midfielders instead of as wingers on the touchline. Richardson got beaten up and I hope more are starting to see why Richards should not be a central defender.
One positive for me was that when we got a corner, with Westood on the pitch, it was taken by Gil. I suspect this is a change from the manager. But the manager has to change mentality too. It's not about sitting back, that will most certainly get us relegated. It's about going for it and having a desire to win.
Now time for tea and toast. Enjoy your Sunday.