It is of course noteworthy that Gerrard said that the signing of Coutinho would make Villa a bigger attraction for other major players to enter the portals of Villa Park. However, apart from Carlos and Kamara, what has happened is anything but that aspiration, particularly now that Villa are flirting with the relegation zone.
Though I am not criticising the player himself, the only permanent signing yesterday - Dendoncker - is hardly a player that the Villa supporters are likely to be ecstatic about. Indeed, I understand that at Wolves he had quietly slid down the ranks of their midfielders and hence why he wanted a move.
He could still, of course, prove to be a very useful signing, but in the face of the fact that a player who has shown grace on the field of play - the versatile Chambers - cannot get into Villa's team as a first-choice player, it makes me wonder what is going on.
Pretty well everyone is agreed that there is little about Villa's forward play that is either constructive enough or indicates a style of any kind. Pretty well everyone also thought that a 'number 8' was an essential need for Villa to get going with the forward progression problem. But no. Is it that Villa's owners, NSWE, are becoming hugely sceptical of the chief coach (who isn't coaching) and are not going to throw further large sums at Villa until their idea of progress is made?
Villa's position in the league is certainly not what NSWE expected, I am sure, and Purslow's assertion that Dean Smith's 2021 playing record was not good enough doesn't stand up to scrutiny now, after Gerrard's 9 months in charge. To me it seems increasingly clear that Dean Smith needed a strong right-hand man (Terry style) to help get him through the Grealish aftermath. After all, players like Konsa and Targett were flourishing under the Smith-Terry combo. Targett went quickly after Gerrard came in and Konsa no longer looks like the dominant c-b he once was. And, still, Chambers doesn't get a proper look in.
In fact, despite the lack of points being experienced under Smith last season, Villa's players did seem to have a better sense of togetherness and style than they have now. Rumours of all not being well at Bodymoor have surfaced.
To bring in Dendoncker now tells me that the immediate future is all about hands to the pumps and the use of muscle to try to grab points. Oh, and Luiz has been retained solely to score more goals from corner kicks! Muscle and dead ball goals - does that sum up the Villa's aspirations now? It's a policy that will not get the targetted 7th place, that's for sure.
The Coutinho experiment was a lovely dream but hardly very realistic having seen how his performances had dropped since his Liverpool days. Buendia seemed to me to be a much more lively option, but he's not getting a proper run in the team. Nor is Bailey. And certainly not Archer. And Sanson?
The PR team at Villa were recently trying to re-launch Lerner's "Bright Future", and plans for extending Villa Park were announced and are said to be proceeding. Instead, we have a looming and ongoing energy price problem that may see those extra 10,000 seats never being filled if that problem persists, as it is likely. Supporters may well soon have to choose between a season ticket and paying their bills.
The scenario does not indicate a very "Bright Future" despite the hype. Realities are for me rapidly catching up with football. Like everything else, we may soon be choosing what is really sustainable; despite what Bill Shankley said, when it comes down to it there are greater things to be concerned about than sport - and entertainment in general, in fact. This is particularly as it's now a very expensive industry for its punters to participate in.
Well, all that aside (for a few days), we welcome Man City this weekend.
And, despite all, UTV!
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