Aston Villa won the old European Cup in 1982. The place was Rotterdam and the opposition was the mighty Bayern Munich, and the score was a good old 1:0. Then in February of 1983 I was born. Life could not be any better. Over the years as a Villa fan I remember Dr Jozef Vengloš and what a balls up he made of things, beating Inter Milan at Villa Park, the emergence of Dwight Yorke, Dalian Atkinson’s wonder goal of the season, getting 
Milošević on the back of my shirt, the excitement of signing Juan Pablo Angel my Villa hero (and also happy 40th birthday), winning cup finals and also losing cup finals. 

So many great moments and the fact that Villa are one of a hand full of teams that have been in the Premier League since its inception leads me to wonder if our time is up. By the way the other teams are 

Arsenal

Chelsea

Everton

Liverpool

Manchester United 

Tottenham Hotspur 

Yeah I’m showing of now. So since Martin O’Neill went on his quest to bring Champions League football to Villa Park and never getting above 6th and walking away after Randy Lerner said he was not allowed his pocket money from the James Milner deal, we have been in free fall. Now I admit I complained about Deadly Doug not splashing his cash and all the rest of the stuff that gave him his reputation, and the nickname, but under Doug Villa were never in debt and at least we were a stable Premiership side. I know times change especially in the fast paced world of the EPL, but he did sail the good ship Villa into nice warm waters that players and fans alike could bask in. Then the sale came along. Deadly Doug was getting on a bit and got board of slaying mangers so in 2006 Randy Lerner was the new face of Aston Villa and with his estimated wealth of 1.1 Billion, us Villa fans got a tad carried away with thoughts of league titles and mega money signings. This never happened. O’Neill did his bit and left as previously stated. We all know he is a clever chap and must of had the foresight to see this coming. Then came the cost cutting exercise issued to Paul Lambert which was a challenge that poor Paul was never going to rise to and the whole Sherwood itch. Shortest spell in charge, of any permanent Villa manager, well his does like a good stat our Timmy.

Now we are up to date, we have a chairman/owner who does not want to play with his toy anymore, no manger, and a load of players that can’t even strike up a conversation without an interpreter. Insert Jose Mourinho jokes now.

So is the next phase of my love for Villa going to be a grey, dull, and painful affair? Well I think it might. The next appointment of a manager is key because if we have another puppet that panders to Lerner like Lambert and Sherwood, who both were just happy to have a job in the big time, then we are buggered. Now Lerner and his band of all American hotshots can save some of their dwindling reputations with the fans and give us a gaffer who has direction and will take no funny business and I bet the names that pop into your heads are the same as the ones in mine!! Then drop his price and get the club off his hands so then at least we have a slight chance of safety, because sometimes a business man has to take a loss to make himself a better business man. I think with the way it’s going this might be the best plan all round. I say this mainly because I had stick for being a Villa fan as a kid by my mates who were all Man United fans ( until Chelsea got their Russian ) and now my 8 year old son is giving me the banter. I have done my time as an over 30 something year old Villa fan, so as we wait for the new arrival and the next twist in the this soap opera of doom and gloom. Now I ask everyone cast your memory back to that one moment of Villa greatness you hold dear. Just so you have a little bit of happiness even if it’s just for a moment. Mine is JPA’s quarter final strike against Chelsea. 

Now basically we now have to hold on tight like Kate Winslet did in that film about the big boat and pray for a happy ending. So I guess I will see you all on the other side.

MS