Blog: Can Villa follow the North Star up the table?
With Aston Villa returning to a ground where they were humbled last season, the question is this - can the club find a way forward? Villa blogger Matt Turvey looks ahead to St. Mary's.
Rooted to the table, Villa will be in 20th position whatever the result against Southampton, but if they are to survive, Remi Garde's team need to progress and quickly.
It has already been stated on numerous occasions that no club has survived having secured just as few points as Villa have at this point, but there's always an opportunity for a club to go where no other has previously.
However, Villa fans will be aware that survival will be a struggle, let alone anything beyond finishing in 17th place. In truth, this very much feels like the season where the club will succumb to the drop, arguably at a time where relegation will cost an all-time high in lost TV payments.
Looking ahead to January, it it hard to know just what will happen. Given the massive risk of potential relegation, will Randy Lerner deny Garde the possibility of expenditure, knowing that any additional spending could drive the club into debt should they go down? Or will Lerner see January as a last chance opportunity to try and save the team from the ignominy of the drop, and the best chance to be able to sell the club at a Premier League price, rather than the cut down figure Villa's American owner will no doubt receive if they do down.
Logic can explain either attitude, although few fans will be happy if pursestrings are tightened rather than loosened, even if there is a sensible financial justification for such a choice. As has been the case throughout recent history, few fans pay attention to the business aspect of the club given that the primary reason to support a club is, well, the football on offer.
Which, in truth, has been pretty diabolical in recent times. Forgetting for a moment one's preference for attacking or defensive football, Villa's play has been one based on almost the bare minimum - just enough to stay up and little else.
Whether one attributes it to the style of play, the quality of players or the standard of coaching, Villa have repeatedly looked like deflated and almost defeated. Personnel has changed, but not to much effect.
Despite the acquisition of multiple young talents over the summer, Villa have failed to make anything of those additions, with former manager Tim Sherwood suggesting many of those purchases were made by other personnel.
Perhaps such a suggestion is merely saving one's skin or, at the very least, deflecting the issues experienced at Villa Park on to other personnel at the club. Whatever the reason, the truth is that the club has changed - for valid reason - but has arguably changed too much and left Villa devoid of identity.
What Villa need to survive is a sense of togetherness and hope. Whether either can be achieved is impossible to assess at this juncture, but fans will have to do their best. However, positive or not, the reality is stark - Villa must do better or else they will find themselves relegated and rock bottom come May.
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 @mturvey_star.
