The sweet-talking owner is yet to make any progress on his ambitious aims for Aston Villa.
The problem with making big promises is that if they blow up in your face, people tend to remember. And it is fair to say promises do not come much bigger than claiming that Aston Villa, relegated just a few weeks prior, had identified the Champions League trophy as their 10-year ambition, as reported by Sky Sports.
Now, over half a season into Tony Xia’s first year at the helm of Villa, the goodwill is just starting to make way for the odd murmur of discontent.
The Midlands giants spent an unholy sum in two transfer windows, splurging almost £40 million alone on three strikers, while Xia has already presided over his first managerial change, all the while championing his favourite buzzword: ‘stability’.
The fact that Villa now find themselves 16th in the table, 16 points off the play-offs, means Xia’s happy-go-lucky persona and rallying tweets are no longer enough.
The fans do not want well-meaning promises, they want palpable progress and at the moment there are little signs of improvements on or off the pitch.
Was refusing to sign expensive flop Tom Fox’s only good Villa decision?
Therefore, it is difficult to disagree with Stan Collymore’s assessment on Twitter after a fifth defeat in six against Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Not saying its his fault, i’m questioning 2 managers, huge spend, Wyness ( WTF???) , McCormack loan, etc etc etc.
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) February 11, 2017
Where’s this “stability”? https://t.co/90eeR944rD
The self-made millionaire is undergoing a crash-course in football ownership. Stature and money is not enough to escape the grip of the Championship.
Aston Villa will resent the FA for preventing signing; he could have solved problem position
Perhaps Xia should remember that actions speak louder than words.
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