The big Aston Villa picture | OneFootball

The boring international break is finally over and we can look forward to club football again. During the break, one question was asked on Twitter that sparked up a debate amongst Aston Villa supporters.

How would you rate the current picture at Aston Villa?

At the time of the question being asked, I thought it was an interesting question but a difficult one. Let’s face it, Villa haven’t got off to the best of starts this season and following a 1-0 victory over Southampton, some fans were still upset at the style and manner in which we beat the Saints on that Friday night.

So let’s take a look at this and I will give my opinion.

The Owners

Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens purchased the club back in 2018 and from their point of view is there any room for criticism? I don’t think so. On the face of it, they have helped get Villa back into the Premier League, stabilized us, and put their money where their mouths were.

I am sure they would have wanted more progress following all the money they have put into the football club but that hasn’t stopped them. There is now talk of upgrading the stadium to appease the growing waiting lists.

Fans will start to question those running the club for the owners soon though unless fortunes are changed.

Rating: 9 (out of 10)

Christian Purslow

Purslow came to the club on the back of negative comments from Liverpool supporters. We had to accept it and on the face of things he has done pretty well.

Some will criticize his appointment of Steven Gerrard but forget he was also the man who brought Dean Smith to the club. The jury is still out (which we will discuss further shortly) on the manager so I think it’s a little unfair to criticize Purslow. Let’s say it doesn’t work out, then he will have a 50% success rate and the next appointment could be very important.

Away from the manager, Purslow has done wonders for Aston Villa. He is playing a massive part in the expansion of Villa Park. Also, another area to consider is the money coming into the club from sponsorship and so on. Under Randy Lerner, this is where we fell short. We spent money without bringing more money into the club appeasing FFP.

I do feel the next 12-24 months could be very important for Purslow and his time at Aston Villa both on and off the field.

Rating: 7

Johan Lange

Lange was brought to the club to unearth talent and hopefully make a profit for Aston Villa. It is hard to judge him on his time since Gerrard has become manager as we don’t actually know who is making the calls.

We can look at players who have come in before that though. Bertrand Traoré was signed for a reported £16.56m and he is currently out on loan with Basaksehir so it is unclear if a profit will be made there.

Other signings have included fan favorite Emi Buendia, Leon Bailey, and Danny Ings. All of which the jury is still out. But I wouldn’t call any of them ‘hidden gems.

The free transfer of Boubacar Kamara is seen as a coup for the club but as previously mentioned, it is unclear if this is a Lange signing or a Gerrard one and in truth, only those within the club will know.

Rating: 5

Steven Gerrard

To be completely honest, If it was in charge, I would have sacked the manager by now. But I am now in charge and there is probably a reason for that.

I actually hope Gerrard turns things around and goes on to have a long successful career as Aston Villa manager.

You don’t need me to go into too many details but I don’t know what the manager is trying to achieve at the club. One week its Bruce ball and the next the team will look like 11 strangers on a football pitch. Gerrard recently commented that he asked for too much too soon from his players and would take a different approach.

The games leading up to the World Cup are vital for the former Rangers manager with the vultures already circling.

Rating: 5