There has been a bit of speculation on the site about what our transfer budget will be this summer and how limited it might be. I believe that, even if the amount is way above our expectations, progress up the table will be limited if it is based entirely on that. We are simply not going to spend enough to effect dramatic change.
However, serious progress can be made with a limited spend if some other things drop into place. The first is out of our hands but not impossible. Quite simply: luck. No players to trip over in the warm-up and be out for months. A decent injury-free run and VAR to go our way more often than not. In their 1981 title season, Aston Villa used just 14 players. Now, some may argue that today’s game places more demands on players; I disagree. Players today are fitter, the pitches are better, and they are protected by referees so much more.
What that Villa team had was a huge amount of luck but, more importantly, team spirit. Money can’t buy that but we can have it. I look at our players and they seem to like each other (a vastly underrated advantage). Jordan Pickford could move on but he stays. Abdoulaye Doucoure could move for a fortune but he wants to stay. Seamus Coleman is another example. Players have lives that are settled, perhaps kids that love their schools, a life that is good and is at our club. Look how we treated Dele Alli. We are a great club with fundamental decency and a great new stadium.
I was against the appointment of David Moyes but he does have that quality of building spirit and togetherness. Players like him. It is the creation of a group like this that overcomes fatigue and comes back from 2-goal deficits.
Most of all, we need the players to have courage. To always show for the ball, to try the difficult pass, to ignore the frustration of the crowd and to try it again. To be brave enough and strong enough to be their best every game. No player should be moving to win medals. He should be staying with his team and being part of the battle to win them at our club.
Every player should hate losing as much as Alan Ball. That is where we start.