AVFC History Comment

The hugely disappointing and unwelcome news that as part of the Steven Gerrard ‘revolution’ long serving and successful Villa player and under 23 coach Mark Delaney has been shown the door leaves us concerned.

The facts are simple - the results have been poor, the performances little better, players are distracted and disillusioned and now more Villa loyalist connections are broken by the Purslow / Gerrard axis.

For the sake of the club and all that has been built since 2018 we have to hope that the next 28 games under Gerrard are significantly, unrecognisably better than the first.

The promise of a transfer window of heavy spending is one thing, the reality however could be something else entirely. We should not be fooled - the gung-ho dismantling of this squad would be a grave error.

Here’s to a summer of mixing the best we have had for two decades with the cream of up and coming youth and young and hungry new signings.

Villa have found themselves at a surprising and unforeseen crossroads since Dean Smith’s (understandable) sacking in November.

What happens next will define the next decade for Villa.

Beginning August with 30-something former names to salivate the Sky generation will simply not do.