How safe are we?

[Chipsticks]

We're staying up

[Steve kirk]

Sadly I have to admit doing the BBC predictor before the Bolton Game, I did not include a single away win and was extremely pessimistic yet still had Villa finishing 14th with 42, points, I cant remember the club in 18th but do remember them having 35 points.   

[SoccerHQ]

Jan, Feb, March going to be crucial. We play Everton, Wolves, QPR and then Wigan and Blackburn away and Bolton and Fulham at home in a row so we need points from that run.

[l_mckay]

what position are we going to be in come the 2nd of january? that Swansea game is going to be massive

[Steve kirk]

Have to agree with Zogman, we may well pull through this time but next season following more departures and with Alex being firmly in place having kept us up could well be the season we go.   

[Bully2345]

I can see us panic buying in January to stave off relegation but I don't trust McLeish to spend the money. We're going to be in a vicious circle of firefighting and changing the manager to preserve our Premiership status, rather than building a club and an ethos. It's painful watching

[OzVilla]

There are certainly sides with lesser squads than ours but not sure if there are too many with less togertherness and spirit.  Blackburn will probably have a new manager soon, maybe Bolton too so they might make a resurgence.  Sunderland will have a MON factor, Norwich play decent football and seem to have good spirit, so do QPR, Swansea and Wigan despite their squads not being as strong as ours - we would never have got that draw against Chelsea that Wigan did for example.

I've seen nothing to suggest that in a relegation battle of 7-8 games we'll have the stomach for a fight.

[PeterWithesShin]

This season, barring a disaster, we'll be fine. There is so much dross in this league that it would take some doing for us to drop. As long we keep fit (and keep them) Bent and Gabby we'll pick up enough points. Look at how crap we've been so far this season, and yet we are on 19 points with less than half the season gone. With 40 being the magical safety mark we are on target for this despite the aforementioned crapness.

However, I am concerned about our long term prospects.

[JJ-AV]

We'll finish midtable, top half at a push if N'Zogbia and Bent click and go on a mini-run. The league is terrible. We're far better than Wigan, Blackburn, Bolton, Wolves, Boggies, QPR, Sunderland and Fulham.

Of course it can change after Jan but we'll be fine. I just hope it's not enough to keep McLeish in a job.

[VillaAlways]

We'll finish midtable, top half at a push if N'Zogbia and Bent click and go on a mini-run. The league is terrible. We're far better than Wigan, Blackburn, Bolton, Wolves, Boggies, QPR, Sunderland and Fulham.

Of course it can change after Jan but we'll be fine. I just hope it's not enough to keep McLeish in a job.

Bar Blackburn and Bolton I think were worse than all the others you've listed.We are bloody awful with  absolutely no fight in us

[Greg N'Ash]

we won't go down. I was worried earlier in the season but as people have said, we're good enough to beat the real shit, pick up draws and mebbe a win against the rest of the mediocrity and roll over for Sir Alex and Co. Still gonna be a car-crash season though and i'm not sure AM will be here to see us survive

[KRS]

Have to agree with Zogman, we may well pull through this time but next season following more departures and with Alex being firmly in place having kept us up could well be the season we go.   

Exactly what my old man said earlier and have to agree also. Fortunately for us this season, there are other teams doing there best to be worse than us. I have absolutely no faith in the owners or management to bring in the improvements that we need, and the reliance on the youngsters and purchases of average players is a recipe for relegation whether it be next season or the one after.

Something has to change in the management or owners policy...preferably both. 

[ozzjim]

we won't go down. I was worried earlier in the season but as people have said, we're good enough to beat the real shit, pick up draws and mebbe a win against the rest of the mediocrity and roll over for Sir Alex and Co. Still gonna be a car-crash season though and i'm not sure AM will be here to see us survive

I think the crunch will come though in a few weeks, say after losing the next 3, when we will be in the bottom 5 and all of a sudden the teams against shit teams come when we have no confidence, Bent will be agitating away, and the pressure will be enormous. I have seen very few teams with as little guile and fight as us this season. It is the worst Villa side performance wise I can remember in my 20 years of regularly watching them, with the least team spirit. At least under DOL we had Milner, Barry, Laursen, Mellberg, Bouma etc and you felt like they could turn in a display, and Houlliers side last season could work the ball around and create plenty of chances. Now we are all the bad things of the worst teams, without any quality behind the front 2 or any confidence. It is a total shambles, and Liverpool should have scored 8 yesterday.

[LeeB]

As it stands, this will be our '85-86', and we'll be just about ok.

If some serious changes are not made in the very near future, then expect a 3-0 opening day home defeat next season, and the next nine months to just get worse.

[flybo]

If we do not go down this season next for sure. It seems that no one at the club cares.