Blog: Why Aston Villa could learn a lesson from the Germans

Earlier this week we saw a German masterclass in the UEFA Champions League as Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich scored eight goals between them. What does this have to do with Aston Villa though, I hear you ask?

At first glance, the obvious answer is "not very much" given that the two aforementioned German teams are competing at the top of Europe's premier club cup competition, whilst Villa are struggling to survive in the English Premier League. However, if we look deeper into the history of Dortmund in particular, there are similarities that start to arise.

Any long term follower of Villa will know that the club has been sitting on a rather precarious financial situation leaving Paul Lambert's "gamble" on young and untested players less of a real choice and more of a necessity.

Dortmund too have had, and indeed still do have, financial issues that they are dealing with. The sale of Mario Goetze to Bayern Munich, whilst disappointing from a fan perspective, has been a financial necessity. Four-goal hero Robert Lewandowski also looks to be sold to Bayern in the near future to help resolve some of the club's issues.

Of course, in some senses, the Dortmund and Villa situations couldn't appear more different to fans. Dortmund, winners of the Bundesliga for the past two seasons before the current one, are a far cry from a team spending most of those same seasons at the wrong end of the table in England.

However, many of the fundamental principles of how Dortmund have been operated under have parallels to Villa, with a more successful future potentially there for Birminghams number one team.

What matters now for fans of Villa is survival. Should the club avoid the drop and stay up this season, Villa will be free of many of the financial shackles that have led to years of austerity when the last of the Martin O'Neill era purchases see their contracts expire.

This isn't to suggest that Villa are totally free from issue come the end of the season though. High paid players such as Darren Bent and Stephen Ireland are still on the wage bill and, with wages as high as they are, may be difficult to move on without some form of contact pay-off. After all, why should Messrs Bent or Ireland leave Villa to earn less money if they remain contacted to the club at a well paid rate?

Getting back to the comparison between Dortmund and Villa, die Schwarzgelben were in a similar position in the not too distant past having their own unexpected brushes with relegation before narrowly escaping and rising under a young manager. Once Jurgen Klopp replaced Thomas Doll, Dortmund managed to move on and progress via a team based on youth and attacking play.

Whilst Lambert may not have had as a successful first season as fellow manager Klopp, it isn't hard to see that the blueprints are similar. The focus on pushing on a club that had been underperforming is identical. The financial issues surrounding both clubs? Very similar.

Now let me be clear - I'm not making suggestions that Villa should be looking to be in the Champions League final in the near future but the concept that progress is possible (assuming the club avoid relegation this season) is fairly obvious.

Like Dortmund, Villa will struggle to hold on to their best players and, as is the case with any club in transition, this is invariably going to be irksome towards certain fans. Whether Christian Benteke or A N Other player ends up leaving as part of a rebuilding plan next season, or five seasons from now, is impossible to forecast, but change - the one guarantee in life - will occur.

Next season the goalposts may well be similar to now. No fan is going to narrowly avoid relegation this season - assuming Villa do avoid the drop - and expect to be competing right at the top of the table. Notwithstanding the fact that Randy Lerner has cut down his investment in the club, progress will be iterative rather than revolutionary if Lambert can keep the Villans' head above water.

What does this mean for the club as a fan? An honest appraisal would suggest an aim of mid-table - far from exciting in the eyes of some, but a realistic view at least. If Villa can finish 12th or higher next season - again assuming survival this time around - then it must be seen as successful.

With that said, the table is awfully congested in the bottom half and the gap between 12th and the drop zone is minimal. Should Sunderland win against Villa on Monday, they can clamber up to mid-table off the back of one game. Villa, win or lose on Monday, will be 17th regardless barring an unlikely double figure win.

Next season I imagine it will be no different and, in all likelihood, Lambert's perceived success - again assuming survival and his remaining as manager for the next campaign - may hinge on a league placing that could be affected by three or four points in either direction.

Take a solid mid-table slot - in the Premier League that is - next season and Villa fans may feel progress is finally occuring. Should the club do the unthinkable and go down, a fine margin of error may put the club further into issues with fewer and fewer clubs bouncing back immediately - make no bones about it, there is no coherent argument for positives if relegation occurs.

What matters now, however, is a performance on Monday night. Secure three points and Villa are, in all likelihood, just another three or four points from safety. Grab one point and Villa will be relying on other teams to manhandle Wigan Athletic in order to avoid the dropzone, as well as magnifying the already large pressure on the final game of the season.

And if Villa somehow come away with no points? Surely that isn't going to happen, is it?

* 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.