Aston Villa are currently third in the Championship table with a 100% record from their first two matches and supporters may be dreaming of promotion this season.
It’s quite the turnaround, as a month ago Villa were facing a winding up order and threatened to go out of business before Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens came in to save the club.
Now, the Midlands outfit have enjoyed their best start to a season this century and things are looking up. What a difference a month makes.
Previous uncertainty over the future of Xia, Bruce and Grealish
After Aston Villa missed a tax payment, Tony Xia’s future at the club was in doubt. Many felt he could sell the club and depart, but the Chinese Businessman said himself in a club statement that he wanted an investor to make up the shortfall.
Xia had no intention of leaving, as he clearly felt he could find financial backing, but it was a nervy period for supporters before Sawiris and Edens were announced. The Midlands outfit were barely surviving from month to month, racking up a lot of debt in the process and Xia’s statement revealed the sales of key players could chip away at the deficit – leading to Jack Grealish speculation.
After failing to achieve promotion in his two seasons as Villa manager, Steve Bruce may have lost his job had it not have been for the club’s spiralling finances. Sacking the experienced boss would mean compensation, something the club had little money for. Bruce was in a strong position and was backed by the club’s new owners, so he’ll remain in charge for at least another season. Could it be third-time lucky?
Promotion the aim again for Villa
After such a good start, it’s hard to temper expectations. Villa are third in the Championship table with six points from their first two games after beating Hull City 3-1 and Wigan Athletic 3-2. There’s still plenty of the season remaining, but they’ve confounded their critics to start well amid all the previous uncertainty.
The Midlands outfit reached the playoffs final last season, losing to Fulham at Wembley. They were fourth that campaign, seven points adrift of an automatic promotion spot. With Bruce still in charge and the squad having kept all but one of its important stars – John Terry could retire after leaving Villa – their squad is more than capable of improving upon 2017/18.
Time will tell if they can deliver, however.