Aston Villa’s failure to keep hold of their lead at home to Norwich on Saturday, only served to put their poor start to the season under more scrutiny.
Paul Lambert has endured a difficult start to his tenure at Villa Park, sitting just one place above the bottom three, with just one league victory and six points from their opening nine games. The poor start has only reaffirmed how difficult the task of reestablishing Villa as a top ten Premier League side will be.
There are signs of frustration emerging from the Villa supporters, having endured two disappointing seasons since the departure of Martin O’Neill, first under Gerard Houllier, then narrowly avoiding relegation under the stewardship of Alex McLeish.
The days of top six finishes under Martin O’Neill have long appeared a distant memory, with many genuinely concerned about Villa’s capability to avoid the drop this season.
A lot of the blame has been laid at the door of the clubs owner, American billionaire Randy Lerner. Upon his arrival in England, Lerner was hailed as something of a messiah by Villa supporters and the media.
Whilst Manchester United struggled with the Glazers, and Liverpool were desperately looking to remove Tom Hicks and George Gillett, Lerner served as an example of the perfect American owner.
His stock has fallen since, with Villa fans frustrated at his failure to invest further in the playing squad, with the likes of Ashley Young, James Milner, Gareth Barry and Stewart Downing all leaving the club for sizable transfer fees.
However I am of the opinion it is not all doom and gloom for Villa just yet. Lerner has spent over £200 million since his arrival at Villa Park in 2006, and is now seemingly more reluctant to reach into his pockets. Villa seem to have looked to a new transfer policy, in the hope of balancing the books whilst at the same time building for the future.
Having allowed vast amounts of money to be spent by Martin O’Neill, alongside writing a cheque for £24million to allow Gerard Houllier to sign Darren Bent, Lerner appears keen to invest more in the clubs youth policy.
Saturday’s game with Norwich saw Villa field a side with the average age was just 24, whilst three academy graduates made the starting eleven, with another three on the substitutes bench.
More young players have emerged into the Villa starting line up in the past couple of seasons, with varying degrees of success. It is still early days however, and it is an approach that should be admired and given time. Too often have we seen promising young players shafted by mediocre signings at a number of clubs. It is not just academy graduates that have featured either.
Another three of the starting line up for Saturday’s game, Joe Bennett, Matt Lowton and Fabian Delph, were all signed from the Football League, alongside substitute Ashley Westwood.
This has been another trait of the Randy Lerner era in recent years, often looking to the lower divisions for cheaper alternatives. Again, this has been done with varying degrees of success, but the idea is for Paul Lambert to mould these young players into a competitive Premier League team, which I am confident that given time will be achieved.
Lerner has also sanctioned signings from Holland and Belgium, leagues known for selling decent players at affordable prices. Ron Vlaar, Karim El Ahmadi and Belgium international Christian Benteke all arrived in the summer, and have shown glimpses of quality so far, as Villa look to form their new identity.
It is an interesting approach from Lerner, but one that will only benefit from the influence of a strong manager. Whilst the last two managerial appointments can be deemed as failures, Lambert looks a shrewd acquisition. If the Scot is given time to mould these young players, Villa should have brighter days ahead.
There will be mistakes along the way, and more days of hurt for Villa fans to endure. But patience and a glance at the bigger picture may hold them in good stead. Lerner was trusted and backed fully upon his arrival in England. If he feels he must lower the clubs debt then so be it. Giving youth a chance is a good way to go about it, and given more time and experience may prove to be a smart move further down the line.
Villa fans are naturally going to worry and demand more, after two seasons struggling in the lower ends of the table. The poor start to the season will do little to quell these concerns. I am of the opinion Villa have too much quality and too good of a manager to go down this season. This season will be about Lambert moulding the young players at his disposal into the team he wants for the future, and then looking to build further. However some positive results in the meantime would be extremely welcome.
What do you make of Aston Villa this season? Has Randy Lerner let the fans down? Or do you have faith in Lambert and the young players? Follow me on Twitter @LukeGreenwood89 and let me know your thoughts.
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