Remember back in 1974? ... "Brian Clough!", "Brian Clough!", was the shout from the fans.
Well, he didn't come and when he lifted Notts Forest to two consecutive EC wins, hearts sank a little. But Ron Saunders (no-one's favourite when he arrived) created the foundations for Villa also to win the trophy!
At that time, Villa were riding high and within touching distance of at least Man U.
So, what days. Fans' expectations were high, and, what's more, they were satiated. It was the time when Villans were saying "nothing is too good for the Villa", and they kept on saying it through the days of GT Mark 1, Big Ron, Little Brian and JG.
So, where are Villa today? Well, though I was intrigued by the thought of OGS coming to Villa, there seemed inherent dangers as a result of that happening ... just more room for another big managerial failure to occur even though OGS is clearly a man of promise.
Expectations have been hugely lowered, particularly in just two years: no longer can we expect a Brian Clough to come through the Villa portals. But, having said that, perhaps there isn't another Brian Clough to be seen - amongst the British contenders at least. And, judging by the level of manager that is being pursued (such as we know) mid-table aspirations seem to be the best that can be hoped for.
Well, so long as the football is good, why worry? We might get to the occasional semi-final.
.
Well, he didn't come and when he lifted Notts Forest to two consecutive EC wins, hearts sank a little. But Ron Saunders (no-one's favourite when he arrived) created the foundations for Villa also to win the trophy!
At that time, Villa were riding high and within touching distance of at least Man U.
So, what days. Fans' expectations were high, and, what's more, they were satiated. It was the time when Villans were saying "nothing is too good for the Villa", and they kept on saying it through the days of GT Mark 1, Big Ron, Little Brian and JG.
So, where are Villa today? Well, though I was intrigued by the thought of OGS coming to Villa, there seemed inherent dangers as a result of that happening ... just more room for another big managerial failure to occur even though OGS is clearly a man of promise.
Expectations have been hugely lowered, particularly in just two years: no longer can we expect a Brian Clough to come through the Villa portals. But, having said that, perhaps there isn't another Brian Clough to be seen - amongst the British contenders at least. And, judging by the level of manager that is being pursued (such as we know) mid-table aspirations seem to be the best that can be hoped for.
Well, so long as the football is good, why worry? We might get to the occasional semi-final.
.
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