Skip to main content

Sliding doors

By
So this is it. An absolute saga of a season drawing to a close today and for Man Utd, Chelsea, Leicester, Bournemouth,  Watford, Villa there is very much a binary outcome. Will Frank Lampard be lauded as a resounding (if somewhat sweary) success in his first EPL season, or will his story be one of sentimental naivety? Same vibe for Ole. Brendan Rodgers knows better and has been manipulating the media narrative carefully such that a fifth place finish is still measured as a resounding success. 

And at the other end. Will the Watford owners' cheesing of the new manager bounce rule prove to be a sound move? Will Eddie Howe be a miracle working shoe-in for future England manager, or just a scowling wreck languishing  in the EFL? For Dean Smith, I think his reputation is actually the least subject to this single result. He is a nice man, learning his trade, improving - but the variation between relegation or redemption couldn't be starker for us. Relegated, and Grealish will inevitably  leave, and with him there will be major risk of losing Mings, Luiz, McGinn, Targett. Two or three others that we don't mind losing would likely go also, and so once again the overhaul would begin,  and the appetite of rich owners with Covid-adjusted wealth balances would be severely tested. Either that or we stay up, trim a bit of deadwood, build a team around our key players and look forward to a positive season next time. That kind of range in scenarios, all to be settled over 90 minutes.

The Birchy house is a sea of cables right now, as my 5-screen plan takes shape. On the big screen will be West Ham v Villa. This will be flanked by the Watford and Bournemouth  games on tablets. Then on a mobile will be the side interest of Man Utd v Leicester, and on the PC will be a constantly refreshing live league table.  Bombay mix is procured,  beers are chilling. There is no champagne on ice - in a nod to last year's  playoff triumph - that can be sought and bought if, as and when needed.

Let's not beat around the bush, today is massive.  I feel Villa need a draw. I'm also rather worried we will lose. I am shitting myself.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We go again

By
In the haze of survival and the hangover that followed, I forgot to do the closing thread to the blog. What an incredible escape my Villa pulled off. Ultimately, despite a minor scare towards the end, we saw out the draw we needed with relatively little fuss. Somehow we have evolved  from being a team that routinely allowed 20+ shots on goal per game, to one that was pretty miserly. Our XG against fell from 2+ per game to sub 1. Our shape was improved, the team press from early season was back. In short, the coaching staff had achieved exactly what us sofa bound fans had been demanding since November. And all via zoom. Kudos to that! The final day played out almost exactly as I expected. Watford were spent and capitulated to a point of no return pretty quickly. No new manager bounce, and presumably the team and fans are all feeling fairly flat and with a very limited sense of togetherness, given the 'knives out' style of the owners. I expect them to have a tough time in the nex...
Post a Comment
Read more

The clock is ticking……

By
Just under a week to go until the season properly starts, and as a Forest fan the season ahead fills me with a bizarre mix of excitement and dread. Apologies in advance for the long post - as I wrote this I’m sat on a rooftop in Spain several beers deep soaking up the sun before getting back to the rain in the UK. Having managed to avoid the fabled last day survival battle at the end of last season, the hope is there for an improvement this time around, and possibly even building to a push for a mid table finish. However throwing a bit of realism into the mix are 2 causes for concern in my eyes: 1. We don’t have a goalie who could argue they are good enough for a starting spot in the Prem. Matt Turner is looking the most likely option, but good as he may be it’s hard to put faith in someone who doesn’t have any Prem games under their belt. 2. Preseason - it’s been abysmal. Apart from the last game against Frankfurt we have been woeful. I know preseason is about fitness, squad experimen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Galacticos

By
 Since I last posted, a few weeks have passed, the transfer window has closed and the season has bedded in. I'm sat now, watching a certain Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Man United. Astonishing. United, for all their relative woes in the post-Ferguson era, have an unbelievable knack of signing great players in the twilight of their career. Players other teams presumably have no hope of attracting. Ibrahimovic, Cavani and now Ronaldo. He will presumably keep the shirt warm until Lewandowski decides to play a year or two at Old Trafford.  Ronaldo's signing seems to have given United a lift, with many talking about them as title contenders. Varane helps their defence to look genuinely solid, the resurgence of Pogba (however temporary it is) alongside Fenandes makes their midfield a real threat, and Ronaldo will succeed with robotic predictability. But they don;t have great depth, and in Solsjaer they still have the Lampard effect in the management department, fond memories rather...
Post a Comment
Read more