The Guardian On The Coming Season

[rjp]

Guardian Article

A refreshingly well written article in my opinion.  It pretty much sums up how I feel about the coming season anyway.

[Dave]

Read that earlier.

Certainly a lot better researched than most stuff that you get in the press.

[philthebar]

Well balanced article, the only bit I disagree on is the phrase

the feelgood factor is so strong that expectations could be a little unrealistic

I think that after the last couple of years we are realistic enough to accept steady progression coupled with some more entertaining football.

[Havencheese]

Agreed, I don't think there's blind optimism here, I'd prefer 'cautiously optimistic with the squad, having full faith in the manager.' The use of Newcastle's climb back from obscurity on a wage bill, dwarfed by our very own is a good comparison.

[luke25]

A good article that, he even managed to pin-point the exact game were Warnocks decline started.

[The Left Side]

Can't wait for the new season

[Irish villain]

It's also a nice dose of reality. We did struggle for two seasons in a row so we shouldn't expect miracles. Anything from 12th to 8th would represent significant progress.

[VillaAlways]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/video/2012/aug/06/aston-villa-premier-league-preview-video?newsfeed=true

This is pretty spot on too

[TopDeck113]

Good article - pretty much on the money.

[DrGonzo]

Stuart James is one of the less sensationalist sports journlists out there, he does tend to write about football rather than looking to create a story out of thin air. 
  That's what I'd like to see as well: no mention of relegation, an improvement in the quality of football on the pitch, a genuine assessment of our playing squad (next summer could see quite a number being moved on if they don't up their game) and a happier Villa Park less of the, righteous, disappointment/anger of the last few seasons, a chance to enjoy watching fooyball again, please.

[pauliewalnuts]

Isn't Stuart James a Villa fan?

[dave.woodhall]

Isn't Stuart James a Villa fan?

He was certainly on our books at one time.

[Chris Smith]

It's a good article and I think he's right to caution about over optimistic expectations, most of us are realistic but we all know that there's a small but gobby minority who want it all and want it now.

[nigel]

"...............expectations could be a little unrealistic"

Sums up the majority of our supporters any season (bar the last one, of course )

[Brend'Watkins]

Every clubs supporters expectations are unrealistic we're not unique in that one.

It wouldn't be unrealistic to say we might do as well as Newcastle did last based on what we've got and with a positive approach applied, who knows?