The depth of the crisis at Aston Villa is summed up by Doug Ellis urging the current owner Randy Lerner to take a “more hands-on approach”.
Ellis was not the most popular proprietor of the club before he sold Villa to the American in 2006. The buck for Villa’s first relegation of the Premier League era, though, stops with Lerner and Ellis’s message to him resonates.
“I only wish he could spend a little more time in the UK supporting Aston Villa rather than following them on his phone or on his television,” Ellis told the BBC. “He made a promise to put in £200m and he has kept that promise, and I made my promise not to interfere and I have not broken my word.”
The first thing Lerner should do is reverse a culture of excuses. After this defeat to Manchester United confirmed Villa’s drop into the Championship, Eric Black was twice offered the chance to describe their campaign as a shambles yet the caretaker-manager hid behind platitudes.
He was speaking as Joleon Lescott claimed that going down was a “weight off” the team’s shoulders; the latest disconnect between club and fans in a season studded with miserable displays and unprofessional conduct.
Villa have been bottom of the table since 25 October after 10 games, when they had four points, two fewer than Newcastle United and Sunderland. In the 24 games since, the 1982 European Cup winners have taken a barely credible 12 points.
Yet when asked if shambolic was a fair description of this, Black refused to send a message to the Villa players and, just as importantly, their fans, which is simply not good enough.
“Everyone has their own adjectives they like to use,” said the Scot. “It has been a difficult season for everybody involved with Aston Villa. Having spoken to a lot of people at Villa the only thing that is in their mind is taking this big club back and, hopefully, the supporters will get a feeling for that.
“There is no point standing here and criticising. That’s done, it’s over; we should be looking to rebuild and if that can start on Monday morning then great, because this is a fantastic football club. There is nobody who would deny that.”
Perhaps Black could explain to travelling Villa fans why there is no point criticising. Especially after witnessing Marcus Rashford’s seventh goal for United consign Villa to a 24th league defeat. Or after he appeared hard-pressed to convince all of his players to applaud their loyal support, who had lent Old Trafford the sort of atmosphere one might expect from the home fans.
Admittedly Black has only been in charge since 31 March, but given he is not responsible for the shambles, there was more freedom for him to speak clearly.
Who might take over permanently is a crucial decision for Lerner and a new executive board, which includes the chairman Steve Hollis, former player and manager Brian Little and Adrian Bevington, once a high-ranking Football Association executive.
David Moyes, Nigel Pearson, and Brendan Rodgers are all being mentioned. Each would be sure to try to establish the fierce work ethic, focus and stability required. But would they take the job? Black believes there will be a queue to do so. “I am sure there will be a thousand people who will want to sit in that seat,” he said. “The infrastructure of the club is set, there are fantastic facilities and the stadium and supporters are second to none.
“I don’t know how many clubs would have 30,000-35,000 coming to games when they have hardly seen a victory. They deserve enormous credit for that. The stadium is in place. We need to rebuild the team into something the supporters can be proud of.”
The big challenge now is for Villa to bounce straight back up. If they do not, and remain outside the Premier League for the next three years, they could lose £200m in broadcast revenue alone.
Black said: “It is going to be very difficult but I don’t think anybody is under any illusions. There are an extra eight games to start with. The physicality is different to the Premier League and we are a big, big fish in [the Championship]. These are all elements you have to consider. I don’t think anybody is under any illusion this is going to be plain sailing. It is a fantastic challenge and one people at this club will be trying their utmost to meet.
“I am sure whoever takes over will ensure that work ethic carries on and if we can get the right squad together then we can bounce straight back, but it will be no easy task.”
The challenge starts now.
Man of the match Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
