Tim Howard has stated that ‘certain clubs feel big’ and he thinks Aston Villa fall into that bracket after playing against them during his career and now watching them from afar.
The former Premier League goalkeeper thinks Unai Emery’s side, just like Jesse Marsch’s Leeds United, have the minerals to be a top-six club.
But he thinks those at Villa Park are currently ahead of the Yorkshire side because of the amount of time they spent outside of England’s top-tier.
Whilst Villa dropped down to the Championship for three seasons, it was a near-20-year wait for Leeds to return to the big time under their legendary coach, Marcelo Bielsa.
Both clubs have a fine and deep-rooted history in English football, but in recent times, they just haven’t been able to match those past successes.
Tim Howard thinks the good old days could return, as he shared why he thinks Emery is the perfect manager for a team like Villa, as he told NBC.
“I have even played cup semi-finals at Villa Park,” said Howard. “Villa is the biggest club in the Midlands. It is tailor-made to be one of the big six.
“We see it happening up at Newcastle. When you have played up and down the country like I have. Certain clubs feel big. Villa Park and Aston Villa feels big.
“The fanbase is there. The stadium is there. Often they have had teams down the years that have been champion-calibre teams.
“I like the manager in Unai Emery. I like that he is a builder. He has won. He didn’t have a great time at Arsenal, but he has won in Europe. I think this is an opportunity for him to build the club forward.
“Leeds have been away for so incredibly long that it’s almost like, I know the history, but you have been away for too long. You have to build. Focus on finishing the top ten. If you can do that, then focus on getting into Europe. I think it’s really difficult for Leeds to do that instantly.”
VILLA ARE AHEAD OF LEEDS
Things can change pretty quickly, but in terms of building blocks, Villa will feel they are currently ahead of Leeds United.
The Midlands outfit beat the relegation-threatened outfit on Friday night at Villa Park, even though the away side were the better team.
But Leeds need to get out of the relegation dogfight near the bottom and have some sort of stability that will allow them to look forward, just like Villa are trying to do now under their trophy-laden coach.
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