Oh dear oh dear oh dear. Whatever next? Villa it seems are a selling club with no ambition, no money, and no future. Sack the board say some. That Lerner must go say others - that Faulkener is a fool says someone else - and as for that man in the manager's office? Pfft!
I wasn't going to renew my season ticket - but I might - just so as I can set light to it and throw it at that ginger muppet the first game we lose... as long as there's cameras at the game... etc etc.
There are lots of folk throwing numbers about for some reason. 24 million is a popular one. Closely followed by 20 and 16 million. The current favourites are 9 and 10 million – with Mr Lerner preferring the 9 and Mr Whelan preferring the 10.
But numbers schnumbers. The only number Mr L is concerned with is this one – 38 million – that is roughly what the football club lost in pounds sterling last year. And as losing money is not a good thing in business – he wants to change it.
Mr Meanie-Tightwad. Won't even buy a razor.And this is making some people very unhappy. Hence some half-witted calls for him to go. Probably from the same crowd who called for GH to go too – well you got your wish bed sheet painters and let me say thank you for your efforts and how much better we must all feel now.
However Villa fans are not the only contrary lot who fill internet message boards with partisan tripe about 'who's da best' etc etc - you haven't seen the incessant bickering between the Rednoses of L8 and the Rednoses of Surrey (er sorry ... Salford?) over the 'who got the best player' from Villa.
Man Utd's varied fanbase scoff at Kenny D's decision to pay £20 large for Stewie D. While the scousers ridicule old Sir Alex for paying £16 mil for diving Ashley as he only had a year left on his contract.
They then go into a long and tedious tit for tat spat where the relative merits of one is lauded over the deficiencies of the other.
As a Villain of long standing - I wish both men well (ish) - they came to VP and they did their bit - and yes, now they are gone - but at least they left us with some financial recompense - so onward and upward say I not boo hoo hoo.
As to who is better? Can you honestly say? I can't. Having watched a Villa team that only had wingplay and counter-attack in their tactics box I find it impossible.
What I do know is that I learnt to temper my early excitement when one or the other finally managed to outwit their opposing full-back, as far too often the resulting ball into the box was high or wide. And if no pass or cross was attempted then that would mean a go at a 'spectacular' - a shot of outlandish audacity - a few of which occasionally came off - as with Stewie's blast against Liverpool on the last day of the season....mmm?
And as for Darren Bent being 'gutted' at the loss of the two I say, wait Darren, and see. Young Mr Albrighton will find you many more times from out wide. So instead of watching a ball sail harmlessly over the crossbar from the quiet acre of solitude your instinct always seems to find in the opposition's box - you may well be stepping forward to meet an accurate crossed ball - oh happy days will be here again - or at least they could be - in my humble opinion.
And that's just it. We all have opinions and this interweb thingy is built on providing platform for said opinions - but facts is facts - as Damien Comoli of LFC might say and I would like to reference the facts and figures Mr Comoli used to justify his opinion that spending £20 million on Stewie D was a mere snip - a bagatelle.
Comoli is an actuary among football men - he is more bean counter than coach - and he asserts that having looked at Stewie's stats - they have got a bargain. Fair enough - but here are the stats quoted in a Mirror article:-
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Liverpool-news-Stewart-Downing-one-of-most-under-rated-players-in-league-says-Damien-Comolli-article772513.html
I'm full of ambition me. At least an extra 30k a weeks worth.DELIVERIES
Cross Corner
Baines 351 100
Jarvis 345 69
Downing 324 79
Barton 312 90
Nani 294 75
Mmm? So Stewie made 324 crosses did he - and took 79 corners - but what kind of crosses were they - what kind of corners...?
ASSISTS
Nani 14
Drogba 13
Baines 11
Arshavin 11
Rooney 11
Fabregas 11
Young 10
Brunt 9
Barton 9
Adam 8
Pennant 8
Van der Vaart 8
Downing 7
Mmm? There he is – right at the bottom – with 7 – looks good until you realise that he has tried 324 crosses and 79 corners to get them. That’s one assist for every 57.57 attempts. Let's put that in percentage terms - that's a cross to goal success rate of 0.0173 which to you and me is a success rate of 1.7%. One point seven percent successful.
Is that worth £20million?
But maybe I'm being unfair, maybe in the middle of a recession as I struggle to find the dollar to put good tyres on my car I find all this hullabaloo, these shenanigans, and the endless millions on offer a touch crass - a touch bling - a touch out of touch?
Perhaps I'm letting my own troubles cloud the picture? So let's look at Stewie's overalll picture for the 2010 - 2011 season.
Starts 38
Minutes On Pitch 3,387
Goals 7
Shots On Target 26
Shots Off Target 36
Assists 7
Passes 1,487
Pass Completion % 78
Crosses 324
Cross Completion % 24
Tackles Made 38
Tackles Won % 74
So here is it - here must lie Mr Comoli's secret data - the data that tells him he's spent someone else's money wisely. I mean look at those figures. 24% of crosses attempted were completed. Superb! Surely? But what does it mean? Does it mean the ball found a Villa shirt - or is it enough if it simply remained in play? The killing figure remains that assists stat - just 7.
But wait you may say - he made 1487 passes and 78% of them were completed. 78%! Surely that alone is worth £10 million? Yet sadly - anyone who has watched Villa will know that the vast majority of these passes will have been short taps to the full back or little prods inside allowing him to run freely towards the oppositions half in the hope of finding space enough to put one of his deadly crosses in - well one of the 1.7% anyway.
But wait again - look at that tackling - the man's a lion - 74% of tackles he's gone into he's won. What have we done? We've let the greatest midfield destroyer since Patrick Viera slip through our fingers!!!! Oh - 74% won from 38 made - what does that mean - 38 a game? No - it does not - it is a season’s grand total. So that is 38 tackles attempted in 38 games - I won't bother putting that into percentage terms for you then.
So for all the hype - for all the bluster - what have we lost and what have we gained? Granted I haven’t included Ashley’s stats here but surely they won’t be much different?
We’ve sold two players who were at the top of our wage structure and who have gone on to other clubs who will pay them far more than we could. If a player talks of ambition – he’s wanting more money at another club – if he talks of Champions League – he wants more money at a top 4 club (whoever they may be). It is a money game.
We sold a player to a Liverpool Club who have more money than us. And we sold another to a Manchester Club who also have more money than us. And then we’ll pick up quality surplus from richer clubs and poach younger star potential from other clubs who don’t have as much money as us. It is simple really.
And have another look at those stats. How much Barton then? Or Brunt, or Jarvis ? Or my own favourite – Leighton Baines? There is skill and talent and value to be found out there and that is the reality we live in – but it’s not the end of the world.
Here’s one league table that should make this clear – it is the Deloitte Football Money League and it details the top twenty clubs in terms of income – in Europe. And there’s good news – we are on it.
http://fsarena.co.uk/?p=2022 20th position in the table that really matters. We’ve always sold players – and we’ve always bought them – what we need to become better at now is producing them.
We have seen the slow emergence of our excellent youth and anyone who has taken the time to visit Bodymoor Heath will realise that Mr Lerner has spent big on creating the right conditions for talent to grow.
He may not be a Sheikh or a Russian Gas Guzzler spunking other peoples money – he spends his own money and he has outlined a vision – and it is one in which Aston Villa will produce more of its own playing staff and give the youth a chance. His manager’s job is to get the playing staff at the club motivated, fit, and fully prepared for each match. There will be money for key signings – like Darren Bent – but Villa’s infrastructure needs to be producing more – and the manager’s will have to take flak and take risks to bring that policy forward.
Steve Davis – Craig Gardner – Gary Cahill – talent lost because they weren’t given a chance by managers pressurised by results– and subsequently sold for a pittance and blossomed elsewhere.
It may be disheartening to watch others wheel and deal and play fantasy football with unreal money but we aren’t like that – and I think that should make us prouder to be Villa fans – we actually produce good players - good English ones at that. We don’t just go out and buy whatever we want – we have to work at it.
I can’t wait to see how the lads who battered the mighty Man Utd last year have come on. Delfouneso and Albrighton and Clark and Bannan. I can’t wait to see young Gary Gardner make his premiership bow.
And alright – we’re not the richest club in the world – we’re not owned by some fossil fuel oligarch who thinks spending the wealth of a nation on a football club is alright - we’re from the West Midlands – where stuff gets made – and people work hard for what they get – and folk have to live within a budget yet still manage to do great things. I think we need to take a bit more pride in what and who we are and the way that we do it.
Yes we are a selling club – and yes we are also a buying club. Yes we have money – and we have ambition – and we have a future – but it won’t be helped by getting on the side’s back – or the manager’s back – or the owner’s back – when things do not go our way.
That is the behaviour of spoilt brats who think they can buy whatever they want in life – and for a time this can be true. But the end, the important things are beyond money – they are priceless, they are precious, and they take effort.
So let’s be proud about who and what we are. We are not wankers – we are Aston Villa.
UTV.
