A slow and patient approach is best

With Swansea City the opponents tomorrow, and with many pundits lauding the stylish passing play of Michael Laudrup's team, Matt Turvey predicts a game that may require a slow, patient approach from team and fans alike.

After last season's ire towards a manager that was seen to urge his team to hoof the ball, I have to say I am both bemused and surprised by the shouts of some fans around me in games to "get the ball up the pitch" - it's as though fans only want to accept passing football when it goes forwards quickly.

Which is, to say the least, a tad strange. Sad as it is to say, sometimes I get the impression that there are portions of the support who are either born contrarians, or merely impossible to be pleased. The type of football exhibited by teams who focus on passing first may not be the most exciting to watch - I have to admit to almost falling asleep watching Spain at the European Championships - but if it wins, then it is surely useful?

So if the match against Swansea becomes a tightly contested to-and-fro between two passing teams, consider the following before you start to boo or exhibit displeasure - what would you prefer?

For those suggesting that getting the ball forwards quickly is better, wasn't that what was getting Alex McLeish in so much hot water with fans? Back then, fans wanted the ball played forwards, from the back, with slow, patient buildup play. "Keep the ball" was the logic so when Lambert's team do exactly that, yet are greeted with boos and profanity from some fans, I wonder what is going on.

It's hard to say this, but I do get the feeling that there are an increasing number of people who consider their lives to be the absolute epitome of misery. Don't get me wrong, when I look at the economic state of the country, and other issues that affect us all, I can wholeheartedly see what might make a person down, but sometimes the wallowing serves to only increase the portrayal of Villa as a club that can be beaten by simply stopping the team playing. Do that, and the fans seemingly start their own downfall with each error merely raising the anger into a crescendo.

I ask fans to step back and look at the mentality that has been cultivated and to ask what it is doing to the club. This isn't a time to point fingers and start blaming people, rather I want people to think hard about what they do before they get involved in the admittedly emotion fuelled shouts that ring out from the stands.

Are we, the supporters, not there to support? Far be it for me to suggest that the last home game, against Everton, was a fantastic result, especially since we conceded so early, but when boos rang out at half time, I have to say that I didn't see the point. Fans know full well that a manager such as Paul Lambert will not be impressed with that kind of performance, and fans know that players don't need to hear boos to realise they have been playing badly - the scoreline alone illustrated that to them.

After an initial sense of unity from the fans on Lambert's appointment, rumblings of discontent have started to arise amongst small sections of the support. As I've stressed many times over, Lambert's task in rebuilding Villa will be a long term one, and thus fans should expect progress to be based on a long term basis.

I'm not suggesting that we should think to ourselves that all games should be lost - far from it - but rather that fans should appreciate that the manager installed at the club is a solid choice and one that requires the support of the fans as well as his team.

If the low rumble of discontent turns into a louder noise if things don't go to plan under Lambert's first ten games, then I have to ask this open question - what do you suggest is the alternative?

We've seen, over the course of multiple years, that the club has slid towards the wrong end of the table. McLeish, hated as he may have been by many fans, took on a pretty thankless task. Lambert has been offered the tools to improve the team, but it's not going to happen overnight - it is going to take time, effort, and patience.

If patience can't be found, despite its scarcity in the modern world where impatience springs up like the proverbial garden weed, then Villa are not going to be on the way up, rather the opposite direction.

As an old saying goes, one that I quoted in my article for Aston Villa Life on Thursday - "Be grateful for what you have, not jealous of what you don't.". If the expectations at Villa amongst fans continue to dwell in the past despite the present being somewhat far removed from past glories, then expect to get the doom and misery you predict.

The other option is to take a deep breath, step back, and give the club a chance. Randy Lerner isn't an evil genius trying to ruin the club, and Paul Lambert isn't an overnight miracle worker. Progress will take time so, when Villa put together a twenty pass move that may only have moved forwards five or ten yards against Swansea, remember that if you have the ball, you can score.

Consider that ethos a significant step up from last season's perceived style and realise that there is a bright future if fans can only break the routine of slipping into disquiet at the first sign of trouble. We'll get there ladies and gentlemen, but our attitude to support should match our passing - measured, well thought out, and not prone to panic.

Fans would expect the players to remain calm if they lose possession so, in the spirit of fairness, shouldn't they display the same cool attitude under pressure?

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