Aston Villa blogger Matthew Turvey wonders which team will come out of the tunnel in claret and blue after the good, the bad and the ugly so far this season.

It goes without saying that Aston Villa are overdue a win and Saturday’s game at Villa Park provides the next opportunity to secure three points.

By all usual standards, Villa should be far superior than a Wigan team that regularly finds itself in a relegation battle. However, it seems that there is something about Roberto Martinez’s side that causes problems for Villa.

In fact, Villa are yet to beat Martinez’s team at home, with the same home game last year finishing 1-1. Which leads me on to the concern many fans have. That it will be another draw.

For some fans, the prospect of yet another draw is the last thing they want to see. Whether one wants to agree or disagree with the expectation levels of Villa’s supporters, it would appear that our current reputation as draw specialists is testing their patience.

In McLeish’s defence, taking the Villa job was a tougher choice than it would have been in past years and was certainly less of a perceived catch than when Martin O’Neill assumed the role of manager in 2006.

Back then, in what some might refer to as the most exciting period for Aston Villa in recent years, many things were very different to how they are now.

Back then, Randy Lerner was universally seen as the financial saviour that Villa fans had hoped for, after years of stringent spending control under Doug Ellis.

Here, it would seem, was a man who not only had the money to support the club’s progress, but also the passion for the club.

Even Doug said on numerous occasions at the time, that Randy was the right man to have sold the club to.

Fast forward to the present day and the view of our current reclusive chairman is a tad different amongst some groups of the support.

Here, in the eyes of many fans, was a guy who was far too distant, far too corporate, as well as not being at matches regularly enough. Rightly or wrongly, perhaps the honeymoon was finally over.

However, long some may have credited Randy’s honeymoon to be, one thing is for certain is it seems to have been longer than the period granted to Alex McLeish.

Coming directly from arch-rivals Birmingham, the view of the move was either one of fury towards the board for such a choice, or of respect for McLeish’s brass neck.

After all, given the long standing rivalry between Aston Villa and Blues, it was hardly going to be the most surreptitious move in the history of football.

For some, even the idea was tantamount to treason, hence the protests began, rightly or wrongly, to demonstrate a view of how wrong some of the fans figured the board had got it.

After the public relations disaster of Gerard Houllier’s appointment, another poor choice was the last thing Villa needed, but the ire drawn by McLeish made Houllier’s appointment look like the capture of Mourinho or Guardiola.

So it was, in the eyes of some, far from a surprise that once McLeish came and played what Villa fans refer to as ‘Birmingham style football,’ with 10 men apparently behind the ball, that draws would be the result.

Or was it? After all, there is at present a lot of debate amongst fans as to what exactly is going on at Villa Park and who is responsible for how the team is playing.

Is it a manager, so often lambasted for defensive football, whose tactics has meant even Blues fans and Villa fans were agreeing?

Or was the cause coming from a team that was lacking in confidence, fearful that a loss would draw more outrage and anger from the stands on matchday?

Of course, such an answer is unlikely to be answered definitively between the lack of real club public relations, coupled with an unlikelihood of any player or manager wanting shoulder the blame, what with the situation being precarious as it is.

Whilst young Barry Bannan had apologised for the Bolton Carling Cup performance on behalf of the team, it was perhaps others who should have been questioning their own commitment.

Why? Well, after the fantastic first season that Marc Albrighton managed last year, second season syndrome clearly appears to have settled in.

Charles N’Zogbia, undoubtedly a very talented young man, hasn’t had the best start to the season and certainly not the return that he may have expected on signing.

Neither of the above players should be criticised, as any professional footballer has bad patches and, in the case of Albrighton, younger players are far more sensitive to criticism than seasoned pros.

The key here is progress, not destroying the youngsters who are having to step in before their careers even start.

Things aren’t all bad though, as Gabby Agbonlahor is clearly putting in his usual 100 per cent effort, even in the face of playing unfamiliar positions due to the preference of deploying Darren Bent as Villa’s striker.

The main concern though, is that our squad appears somewhat schizophrenic, what between performances that have varied as wildly as the one-touch football displayed second half at Queens Park Rangers, to the insipid performance against Bolton.

So the question now isn’t who is to blame, but rather which team might emerge from the tunnel this Saturday. Which will it be?

You can also follow Villa blogger Matthew Turvey at his own site, http://www.astonvillalife.com.