Championship giants Aston Villa continue to under-perform and former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has provided his opinion.
Aston Villa are not exactly in the best place right now. The Midland giants have won one in their last 10 games with the pressure ramping up on manager Steve Bruce.
And their dismal form continued when Glenn Whelan missed a last minute penalty in Tuesday’s 3-3 home draw against Preston as boos and an occasional cabbage reigned down from the Villa Park terraces.
But it could be a lot worse. After all, Aston Villa looked to be heading for financial ruin with the club in crisis under Tony Xia. It looked as if they would be forced to sell most of their star players with Jack Grealish, Jonathan Kodjia and James Chester among those expected to leave with little potential for replacements.
Fortunately, however, Naseef Sawiris and Wes Edens rode in to town to save the day. The Birmingham Mail reports that they both parted with £30 million to seize a 55 per cent controlling stake.
And Simon Jordan, who was Crystal Palace’s chairman between 2000 and 2010, has been impressed by the new men at the helm, particularly with their decision to stick with Bruce over the summer rather than replace him with the illustrious yet unproven Thierry Henry.
“Villa fans have got to be mindful of the fact that, three months ago, they were terrified of what was happening with their football club,” Jordan told Jim White on talkSPORT (3 October, 12.30pm).
“And now they’ve got a group of owners who have come in who have been very sensible, they didn’t want to showboat and bring in Thierry Henry and they’ve kept Grealish.
“Steve Bruce is in my mind one of the most capable managers around and if anyone is going to get Villa straight it will be Brucey.”
But with results poor and the atmosphere on the terraces becoming somewhat toxic, Sawiris and Edens could soon have their biggest decision to make.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
