Standing at St Andrews last Sunday, looking into the sky, as once more our great Aston Villa had been beaten by the blues, I thought ‘How can this happen, how did we get into a position where we cannot compete with blues over 90 minutes and only just compete with them over an entire season???’. The answer is simple, Birmingham City are a small club who think big and Aston Villa are a massive club who think small. Due to this, Birmingham City are now on a level playing field with Villa on the pitch and off the pitch, they have over taken us, buying the players the manager (Steve Bruce) wants and having the drive and ambition to take Blues forward. Birmingham City are now seen as the club going forward, while Villa are seen as the older statesman, going backwards.
Aston Villa are one of Europe’s truly great clubs and has a pedigree second to none. How much longer can we (as supporters) take this? I am sorry to disappoint all you supporters who believe we are fine and haven’t done too badly under Ellis, but we have lost our place as a big club and outside of the midlands we are a nothing club. If you agree with that (and it is difficult not to), how long are you going to accept that? Villa were not formed to be a nothing club going nowhere, we were formed to be the biggest club in the Midlands and to compete for the biggest honours in the game. Aston Villa was a special club, but under Ellis, that sparkle has been taken from us and now we are just ‘another club’. While some of you do not agree with VFC, you must agree that Doug Ellis has to leave Villa surly and that something has to be done to remove Ellis and his board from Villa Park?
We Villa supporter’s have to unite to fight and force Ellis to put the club up for sale and invite potential buyers to bid for the club, as under Ellis, we are going nowhere but down (or at best, sideways). As supporters we all want what’s best for Villa, and I am sure most supporters believe Ellis should go. Now we just have to come together and fight for the common goal.
For those of you who believe protests are useless, let me just say, they have worked before at Aston Villa (and other clubs) and can work again if we continue them properly and keep up the fight.
For those of you who believe protests affect the team, this season is now over for us (as it was after the Sheffield United game), they are competing for nothing, and we cannot affect them. Furthermore, this is for the greater good at Aston Villa and not just the present, I believe in the bigger picture of things it is for the benefit of the club in the long term to protest to remove Ellis and if it does affect the players, then so be it.
For those of you who believe structural change in the club would help, do you honestly believe Ellis will relinquish any of his powers to any other person? Bruce Langham, a man with great ability, has not even been allowed to do his job properly under Ellis. I think people who believe Ellis would ever relinquish any of his main roles in the club are naive.
The main point is Aston Villa will never compete with the big clubs again under the Ellis regime. How long can we put up with this? The answer is up to you.
Up the Villa!!! Ellis Out!!!
Matthew Lingard 8)
