Hull City vs Aston Villa: Fresh start after a summer of tumult

Rarely can the result of a single game have had such a defining impact. May’s play-off final at Wembley was billed as Villa’s biggest game for more than a quarter of a century and so it proved, with the 1-0 defeat to Fulham setting in motion a summer where for two months the club teetered on the edge of disaster.

Only the arrival, barely a fortnight ago, of new majority shareholders Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens helped to steady the ship.

A cash injection of more than £30million immediately ended the very real threat of administration and means that, far from approaching the campaign with an element of trepidation, the current mood around Villa Park is one of cautious optimism. At the same time, it remains difficult – ten weeks on from Wembley – to not wonder what might have been.

“When you see Fulham now spending the money they are, you realise how close we were. But it wasn’t to be,” said boss Steve Bruce.

“Then it all unravelled about the financial difficulty the club was in. It didn’t take long for it to all spill out. From being close to repairing it all – suddenly the club was plunging back into chaos again.

“It’s been such a whirlwind, it’s been quite full-on for all of us. It’s gone from the ridiculous to the sublime.

“We’ve gone from the club in a dark, dark place to this within two weeks. We need time but I’m convinced the future of the club looks great because they (Sawiris and Edens) are very successful in their own right with what they do.”

Bruce’s caution has everything to do with the fact that, for now at least, Villa appear some way short of the unit which came so close to winning promotion last term.

Goalkeeper Andre Moreira remains the only signing to date and though that is almost certain to change before Thursday’s deadline for permanent deals, uncertainty also continues to shroud the future of star man Jack Grealish.

A big few days lie ahead but after the summer from hell, Bruce admits the chance to talk about actual football matches again is a huge relief.

“We’re looking forward to it,” said Bruce. “The players that are here have done really well and are in good shape. At the end of the day we’ve some good players here who nearly got us over the line last year. Hopefully with some shrewd investment and some shrewd signings over the next four to five weeks we’ll be in a better place. We’d love to be in a better place now and have them on board now for the beginning of the season.

“Now we are about to go to work.”

Key Man: Jack Grealish

Jack Grealish’s future might remain uncertain but while the 22-year-old remains at Villa he is unquestionably their star man.

Steve Bruce says:

“All the questions have been about other things so it’s nice to talk about football. We’ve still a lot to do in that respect but the new season is on us. It starts now.”

Likely Line-up:

(4-1-4-1): Steer, Hutton, Elphick, Chester (C), Elmohamady, Whelan, Green, Grealish, Hourihane, Adomah, Kodjia