Brave New World – Radical New Aston Villa Roles for John Terry and Steve Bruce?

‘…as MUCH AS we both revered Dr Tony, he has fallen foul of similar mistakes Randy Lerner did but in a much shorter time period’

By Chris Wall

Psychotically Optimistic

Just like a erroneous jagged dorito painfully dawdles down the throat. Saturday was equally difficult to swallow. What is certain, amidst level 10 rumourville shenanigans is a tenuous summer ahead.

On Sunday, me and my dad sat down to perform the annual autopsy of the season gone and Saturday’s final. We both frustratedly agreed to disagree on certain points and I am often at a disadvantage, due to being a psychotically optimistic Villa fan.

We did agree though that the current predicament villa find themselves in isn’t easily remedied and that, as much as we both revered Dr Tony, he has fallen foul of similar mistakes Randy Lerner did but in a much shorter time period.

Villa Foundations

I am interested in the foundation of the club. Steve Round’s appointment as Director of Football was refreshing and I listened intently regarding comments about ‘ethos and identity’, which continues to be unclear and certainly uncommunicated.

This should be the foundation of which everything stems from, but it is also the issue that takes time. I’m clueless about the inner sanctum workings of professional football, but I do understand organisation change management principles and the need to manage expectations and communication. I for one, would be happier to know what the plan is, if that meant waiting longer for promotion.

Let’s face it, short term fixes at Villa don’t work.

Villa Engine

I would like to see better communication regarding the ‘Villa Engine‘ Wyness and Round talk about, which was essentially a rehash of the ‘prepared’ moniker we adopted many moons ago. Particularly in regards to recruitment and style.

My Christmas list would be youth development and first team progression and perhaps a similar approach to manager recruitment.

Radical New Roles

It has been interesting watching the Steven Gerrard and Rangers situation. This could be the new approach clubs take in order to be self sustainable in the long term, as competing financially with the big boys is difficult and destructive without adequate club infrastructure.

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Maybe we should think about the advantages of such an approach and apply it to our departed captain John Terry. Inexperienced as a coach, yes, but look at his impact on our players already and he will have contacts for Chelsea’s academy as long as his arm.

What young player would turn down the opportunity to play for John Terry at our majestic club?

As for Bruce, Terry would need a mentor, could we not move him up in Steve Round’s team? This would lay a foundation for young manager, old head mentor and we keep that plan going forward, scouting Bruce’s and Terry’s replacements early like Southampton and Ajax do, creating opportunities for up and coming managers to flourish.

If we don’t adapt to the changing landscape with some imagination and innovation, then we could be left languishing even longer.

Fan Challenge

The real challenge is ourselves, the fans. Will our own expectations and patience allow the club such an approach in an attempt to try and reap the rewards later on? Our current plight mirrors those clubs earlier that struggled to get back to the promised land. Equally, we are a cautionary example to many other big clubs that will almost carbon copy follow our downfall.

This era in football history will be measured by how we approached our resurrection by learning from our mistakes and establishing a future proof foundation, that is beyond the personnel that journey via the club.

UTV

Follow Chris on Twitter here: @tmoustachio

These supporter opinion pieces are not necessarily the views of My Old Man Said