Great expectations...

[abdulaziz1]

1) Wasn't into football a lot .. Maybe I only saw couple of Villa games in the early 2000s , Let's say 2003 or 2004 .. 

2) .... But At the end I wanted to go to CL + a cup win !

3) Our loss against Everton + draw against Hull might changed little bit .. But I'll wait for our result and performance against West Ham to answer this .. If we won Everton and Hull I would have said Top 6-7 .. For now Top 10 with a push for Top 7 ..

4) I aim for Top 4 .. Which is really hard because even if we were strong and have some money it would still be hard "eg Liverpool" .. A cup win and top finishes would do so .. The good thing is winning the Europa League next season would you qualify to CL , So that's a good target for us , We haven't win the EL before anyway !

[KHV]

I've just read Mark's post on the way to work and it is exactly how I feel right now and how I have always felt. I've always believed we are a big club, I have heard stories, spoken to many people (including Villa legends) and we really are an incredible club. Nothing can change that in my head, nor in my heart.

 

For the record, Mark's post is HERE.

 

So it got me thinking about how we see the club. I'm interested in hearing what your thoughts are on Villa and thought I would ask four simple questions. For the record... this is not a chairman, manager or poster-bashing topic, it's just because I thought it would be interesting to see how views change/have changed.

 

Be honest!

 

1) What were your expectations when Doug was in charge?

2) What were your expectations when Randy took over?

3) What are your expectations now (today as things stand).

4) What are your expectations for the future.

 

My reply...

 

1) To battle for top six, to look at winning a cup.

2) To push on and look to get 4th, to win cups and keep progressing.

3) To be competing nearer the top of the table (6-10), to challenge for a cup, to be dominant at home, to show no fear who-ever the opponent.

4) To compete in the top six, look at winning a cup. In the long term to once again be at "the top"

 

Over to you.. 

1. Top Six and a decent cup run

2. Top 4 challenging for trophies

3.To stay in the premier league. anything in the cup is a bonus

4.Lerner to go, Lambert to go. To no longer be a cheap bottom feeder club with piss poor players and get back to top 6

[smetrov]

The Doug Ellis period for me breaks into a few phases

 

1982 - 1987 - The hopeless period - he though he knew it all - cleared out the european cup team,  because he thought there wages were to high. Poached the manager of mighty Shrewsbury to manage Aston Villa. From european champions to relegation in 5 years- I put this mainly if not 100% down to him

 

1987-2000 ish - I certainly believe Graham Taylor taught Doug Ellis how to run a football club. Taylor re organised the club on and off the field - encouraged Doug to be a bit more adventurous, and provide managers with cash for players. I believe the foundations that Graham Taylor put in place were used by Doug for the rest of his tenure.

 

2000-2006 - Doug stated to revert to type - the club was now a PLC and Mark Ansell knew the cost of everything but the value of nothing - but he seemed to have the ear of Doug Ellis. Doug was getting old and had run out of ideas by the time of his demise

 

When Randy took Over 

Top 4 and challenging for cups - New North Stand, Major sponsorship deals

 

As things stand (Hope Today)

 

That money become less important in football. I fear that a formal European league will form in the next 5-10 years - I don't expect Aston Villa to be part of that.  

 

Expectations for the future

Lerner won't be around much longer. I hope we get someone with new ideas to run the club. I would love to see Graham Taylor as CEO. I think we will get back to being a top 6 \ 8 club.

Edited October 30, 2013 by smetrov

[PaulC]

1) Depends what period of time, hopes of winning the league twice under Taylor and Atkinson. Then challenging top 4 which we did under Little.

2) I really hoped we were going to get top 4 and champions league

3) Just to improve on last season. Maybe top half finish and a good run in the FA Cup

4) To keep improving, win a cup and some players to come through the academy because that's the way forward. Maybe if we get an influx of money we can dream once again of champions league football. But that is a distant dream as things stand.

[The Fun Factory]

What has depressed me and massively  lowered my  future expectations for Villa is the past 3 years. For all those fans who thought that once Doug sold up Villa would join the top clubs, that has not occured and seems ever further from it. But for that small nugget of  hope that something might turn up is enough for most of us to turn up to Villa Park.....

[Cliffy Biro]

I dont have any great expectations, not since mon anyway. Were a top top club with amazing history and facilities basically everything is top notch at the club but that doesn't mean you're owed anything our ambition just seems to be breaking even at the moment and we wont be going anywhere too quickly while that policy remains.

[Chap of Steel]

The way I see it is that unfortunately for fans, every team has their good and bad moments.

Is it right to expect great things from our club? Yes, we've got a fantastic history and should really be up there with the big names. However, in the footballing world, especially one increasingly dominated by money, luck can change very quickly.

Teams change very quickly. Man City all of a sudden had a load of cash. Swansea found themselves on the brink of extinction before leaping up the leagues. Everyone expects the best for their team, and not everyone gets that luck.

While I, like everyone, moan about Villa losses, the team can't live off the past achievements. I wish, and think, more money could be put into the squad and all that sort of thing. But at the same time I try and look on the bright side in that we are at least relatively stable after a few dodgy seasons, and I personally believe Lambert is the right man for the job.

[Villarocker]

1) Thought we were always capable of springing a surprise in a cup and were capable of top 10 finishes every season with a good chance of top 6.

2) Thought Lerner would make us serious top 4 contenders and looked that way with MON.

3) Now expect to be anywhere from 17th to 8th each season with the constant worry of relegation in the back of my mind.

4) Expect Lerner to rein in his money and sell us to highest bidder and then it's fingers crossed and wait and see time for those that genuinely love this club - the fans!

Edited October 31, 2013 by villarocker

[Raver50032]

1) What were your expectations when Doug was in charge?

2) What were your expectations when Randy took over?

3) What are your expectations now (today as things stand).

4) What are your expectations for the future.

 

1 - such a long period to cover. Focussing on the 1989 to 2000 period, I would say I was expecting to challenge for the league and certainly for the odd cup here and there. And we delivered on several occasions. Towards the end of Ellis' tenure, it was becoming clear that he wasn't in a position to push us on and decline was evident.

 

2 - I fell for the gravy train. I was convinced that we were going to be the new Chelsea... We even took the piss out of City for losing their Shinawatra money when Gabby scored that perfect hat-trick in a famous 4-2 victory. I was expecting us to make a good fist of getting into the top 4 and ultimately actually do it. I could foresee good cup runs again. Then the summer of 2010 happened... WTF?

 

3 - I am sure we are being scaled for sale. I expect to remain in the division and have the odd flukey cup run. Any promising young player will be sold to the highest bidder. Rinse and repeat. Pretty sure right now that we are going through a phase of treading water and making up the numbers... and slowly boring/annoying our home crowd to death.

 

4 - From despair to where? It's been a proper Yankee-Mind-Fook... hasn't it?

[VillakevBromsgrove]

1 -  to be in the top six consistently and challenge for a cup, to get the 1 marque player per season come into the club

2- to have the club stabalise and push on with a solid base, to improve the infrastructure on and off the pitch.

3 - to start to be competitive again shining in the second half of the season and showing some class.

4 - once the finances are right - (hopefully at the end of this season) to start to improve the team with better players along side the existing ones who perform. to challenge for the top 6 and cups again. to hang on to PL and grow together with a consistant approach instead of the constant chopping and changing and starting all over syndrome.

[the_sun_never_sets]

interesting one...

 

1) I was too young at this point to really judge anything

2) Under MON minimum expectation was 6th ideal would have been 4th - i really just expected us to win against all teams outside the top 8 and give all other teams a hard time

 

i'd merge 3 and 4 as follows -

 

Perosnally i think it will be the 2015-2016 season before we are a real force again - i believe by the end of this season the 'book balancing' excercise will have been largely completed but it wont be until 2015 till we see any >£8/9 mill signings with that in mind the only expectations I have are:

a) to be competitive in every game

to show progress every season as follows

2013-2014 - minimum expectation 13th - no danger of relegation

2014-2015 - minimum expectation 10th - comfortably mid table - solid in the cups (quarters) - investment/takeover post season

2015-2016 - minimum expectation 8th - good cup runs (e.g. a semi final appearance) - european qualification hopefully!

[PaulC]

Good thread. Its interesting to know what fans of different ages level of expectations are.

[R.I.C.O.]

1) What were your expectations when Doug was in charge?

2) What were your expectations when Randy took over?

3) What are your expectations now (today as things stand).

4) What are your expectations for the future.

 

Over to you.. 

 

1) I'm 31 so I started watching Villa during Graham Taylor's first spell. Villa were consistently in the top 8 for much of Ellis's time so that is where I expected us to be. Some seasons when we had a strong team, playing in europe would be a normal thing. Even when we started to go off the rails a bit towards the end I thought we had a team good enough for top half finishes.

 

2) The sky was the limit. I honestly thought we'd be challenging for honours in at least five years. MON's appointment gave the place such a lift, and I hadnt seen Villa Park as consistently full as since the mid-1990s. How I would have loved for things to have turned out differently.

 

3) The way Lerner has run this club I can't see higher than struggling to stay in the league, and this season will be no different. The man has given up on the club in my opinion and is not backing the best manager we've had in years. Although Lambert has precided over some awful, embarassing results and performances, he is truly working with one hand tied behind his back, and this includes this season. I can't see us finishing higher than 15th, and it will be a long, hard seaosn yet again. On our current path, I cant see many fans coming back (myself included) as what's the point of putting yourself through this crap?

 

4) After all the cost cutting, if Lerner doesnt put a significant amount of money into the club he appears to be not showing any interest in anymore, we will lose Lambert to another club and then get relegated. So I really hope he does the decent thing and sells up as soon as possible - to the richest potential owner out there, as sadly, that is all that matters in football these days.

 

However - under the right owner we could be massive. We have huge untapped potential that is still not being taken advantage of. Cheap land prices around the stadium for potential development, ground redevelopment plans that could be resurrected. All the fans need to come back is a bit of hope. We saw that during the early MON era. Regular crowds of 40k+ off the back of the takeover. For too long Lerner and co have not given the fans anything to have any hope about. They are just happy for this club to stagger on, working on a shoestring and appearing like a feeder club/stepping stone to the super rich clubs. That is not going to bring the fans back and I expect for the rest of Lerner's tenure we wont see more than 35k on a regular basis! The fans are voting with their feet!

Edited October 31, 2013 by R.I.C.O.

[Voinjama]

1) Midtable wilderness for eternity

2) We'd nab a champions league spot at some stage (until Man City were taken over)

3) Midtable wilderness for eternity. Barring a fair bit of investment something like a 6th place seems like a pipe dream tbh. 

4) At one point in my lifetime i'd like us to be challenging for the title. Even just one season. I should be around for another 50 or 60 years. Whether that happens because we become awesome or because world football explodes financially I don't really care.

 

 

Are you 23?