Villa blog: Is the Sherwood train still on track?
After a week off, Aston Villa return to the grindstone, but will they come away from the weekend with anything to show for it?
looks at whether Tim Sherwood can convince people that the revolution is still on track.
Aston Villa have had a bit of an up and down season so far. Despite only playing four games - a win, a draw and two losses implies familiar territory for fans.
It is hard to know what comes next, especially given Leicester City's performance so far. With eight points, the Foxes are in the top four, although few but the most optimistic Leicester fan would imagine they would be anywhere near such a position come May.
However, the general feeling - at least at the start of the season - suggested Villa were good value for a mid-table finish at the end of the season. Now, despite being mid-table at present, a point a game indicates a less than ideal outcome spread out over the whole term.
Such a view sounds pessimistic, but it isn't intended to be. On the balance of things, Villa did manage to upgrade a lot of their team, even if a striker of Christian Benteke's calibre didn't quite arrive, although the reality is that Villa couldn't attract a ready made replacement for their former Belgian striker.
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Rudy Gestede has the power and physical nature, but is not exactly Benteke. Jordan Ayew seems like he may have potential, but hasn't exploded on to the Premier League scene in the same way as his brother Andre, leading some to suggest Villa's new striker is a waste of money which, in reality, is both a little harsh and premature.
Villa did at least manage to sort out the defence, with it looking far more solid with the likes of Micah Richards and Joleon Lescott in place. Sure, Lescott is far from a spring chicken, but there's a solidity to the pair that seems likely to make for less goals conceded at the very least.
The difficulty in predicting where Villa go from here is mostly down to changes in the overall league. Villa have certainly got better players in, but then so have almost everyone else, with a deluge of cash helping swell the coffers of the world's richest league, and sparking a massive influx of talent into English football.
For the fans, the increased money is a double edged sword. On one hand, money attracts the best - or at least the most mercenary - to the league. However, football still remains a pricey entertainment option, even if Villa are one of the cheaper clubs to watch, and many fans are priced out of attending games at all, something of a sad situation given football is the national sport.
Perhaps Villa can do better, but it would be foolish to predict at this point. If they can manage to take down Leicester, many will be happy, despite apparently less-than-top-class opposition.
If they can't, social media will be awash with questions on if Tim Sherwood is the messiah many had him pegged to be on his arrival. Rome wasn't built in a day but, sadly for football managers across the country, some will start questioning the Sherwood revolution if the next result yields no points.
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.
