So here is the end of season post and I’m sorry it’s late. I tried to write it three times in real life, but in my head I tried to write it every day. It’s not easy because it was a very good end to the season and I know that it will not reach the expected levels.
But we need a new position. The World Cup has now started and we have an article with over 4,000 comments.
And some of us will remember a better season than the one that just ended, but not by many. For me, even though I’m quite old, I don’t really remember 1981 and 1982. I was just too young. The season that just ended will be the best ever for many, including me.
But the season didn’t start that way. There were people after five games suggesting the manager might need to be replaced. After everything he did, he got five games. Fortunately, we have owners who seem to clearly understand what is needed.
And after that, it got better and better. Around Christmas, some people were even talking about us as contenders for the title. Until they stop. Losing McGinn, Tielemans and Kamara cost us dearly. Things just didn’t seem to be working and I’ve written for a long time that it’s a matter of approach, but losing all three demonstrated how important all three of these things are.
But when things started to falter in the Premier League, things started to look achievable in Europe and we all know how that ended and I have to tell you there was no better feeling and I still think about it every day.
And it’s not just that we won it, which was fantastic and something I’ll always remember and I’m so glad I went, it’s that everything around it fell into place.
Beating Forest 4-0 at Villa Park to reach the final was where it all started. Beating Liverpool 4-2 a few days before, to confirm Champions League football for next season, took the pressure off. Then the final in Istanbul and then the win against Manchester City on the last day of the season when it didn’t really mean anything but we beat them and they had a go.
It doesn’t get much better and I’ve written about it several times now, but what a time to be an Aston Villa fan. And it can get better.
But first we need to define what is better. What would be better for us would be consistency. And for us, consistency means finishing in the same place next season. This means keeping hold of the manager and continuing to support him.
This means there will be players leaving this summer and we will see new players arriving and we will have to do all of this with rules and restrictions in place that Chelsea and Manchester City haven’t really had to deal with. This isn’t going to be easy.
Today’s game is designed for clubs who got into it at a time when it was much easier to break the rules. And as we saw last season, all that happens is a slap on the wrist when you get caught. And we’re yet to see what happens to Manchester City and will any of us be surprised if this is just another slap on the wrist?
But we must ignore it. We have to look at ourselves. We have an aging team and we don’t have the resources to buy who we want, because if we do we’ll probably get more than a slap on the wrist.
So we have to be smart. We have to be consistent and trust the owners, the manager and the process. As long as we can keep the core of our team and improve it, I think we can repeat this season next time in terms of finishing where we need to finish again for the Champions League.
Yes, it’s going to be difficult and there are teams around us who can just buy whoever they want, but Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea all have new managers and Manchester United will hope that what happened before doesn’t happen again.
With all this, it is an opportunity for us. And one I’m looking forward to. And sorry this took a while to write, but as I wrote above and like many of you, I still appreciate how the season ended.
And yes, I’m watching some of the World Cup but it’s not great, is it?
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