Blog: Aston Villa need spirit, direction and the personnel to help this club progress

The season is almost over, but what of Aston Villa Football Club? Have the past few years been a sign of the future or a past soon to be left behind? Matt Turvey takes a candid look at the season.

As Aston Villa roll into the final weekend of the season, there's a strange feeling in the air. After weeks of tension as a result of the risk of relegation, the club's final two matches have been effectively pointless with the only title Villa are challenging for is to be the top team in the Midlands.

Looking back on the season as a whole, it has been a challenging one with the occassional reward. A first day victory against Arsenal had the fans filled with hope, but this weekend's trip to North London will have a very different flavour.

Where Villa find themselves now is a place without a direction. The chairman, previously so well loved as to have his name chanted by fans at Villa Park, is seen as more of a problem than a solution. Many of the fans are waiting with baited breath for the contents of a statement that has been promised for the end of the season. Will it be a sale? A statement of intent to reinvest? The truth is nobody but Randy Lerner and his closest circle has the answer.

In fact, if we were to look at the whole season, it would be easy to say that this was a campaign that posed many questions but gave few consistent answers.

One of the biggest questions posed has been this - "Have Villa progressed?". Villa have shown that they are capable of beating some of the best teams in the league, but they simultaneously have lost twice to the likes of Fulham, Crystal Palace and Stoke City. Read the league table's statistics and you'll see evidence to say that Villa have gone backwards if anything.

As with every situation, the analysis is rarely as simple as some suggest. Yes, Villa have arguably underperformed, playing often drab and dour football, but there have been issues that can't be avoided. Jores Okore - a summer target for Chelsea - lost most of the season to injury. Libor Kozak, a striker who has showed some promise in terms of goal returns, has spent months tending to a broken leg. Finally, Christian Benteke - arguably Villa's jewel in their crown at present - has suffered with injuries too.

The problem that the club face now is that few care about injury lists, and even less about financial play - a consistent narrative that has driven the reasoning for Villa's stuttering form. What fans want is success, trophies and excitement, though that particular trifecta of desires has been absent from Villa Park for some time.

Which isn't to suggest that fans should accept the existing setup, rather it serves to frame some of the real life issues that affect numerous clubs, though many choose to still ignore these problems even in the face of increasing financial restrictions.

Are Villa perfect? Not at all. In fact, they are far from it though, as stated before, all that matters is results in the eyes of those seeking Villa Park as a home of entertaining football.

Which, if we're honest, is not exactly an unreasonable request. Go to a local eating establishment and I'm pretty sure you'd be judging your decision to return there on the quality of the food served up, not a long and reasoned explanation on why money is tight and they can only afford to go for young chefs with little experience.

The truth of the matter is despite years of fervent support, what matters to most is what is happening now. As much as regaling tales of the European Cup final is an enjoyable trip into the past, what of the present and the future? Will I see my kids watch Villa win Europe's top prize again?

Villa have made mistakes and, in many ways, are fortunate not to have paid for them with their Premier League status. Going forwards, the club must be reinvented with spirit, direction and personnel who can progress the organisation as a whole.

Time sadly has no moral conscience in terms of who or what history sees destroyed. A few wrong steps next time around and it could be another relegation battle or worse.

So, without changes, Villa may well find themselves a relic of Midlands history much like former car giant Rover - history makes for great fire side story telling, but without a clear direction, the Villans may find themselves confined to a far more depressing future.

You can follow Matt Turvey's regular opinions at his own site, Aston Villa Life at http://www.astonvillalife.com, via the site's Twitter account @astonvillalife, or via his own Twitter account @mturvey_star.