Analysing the Premier League relegation battle at the halfway stage

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20th – Aston Villa – 8 points

It really doesn’t look good for Aston Villa. People refer back to Villa losing Delph and Benteke last summer but it shouldn’t be forgotten they lost Ron Vlaar and Tom Cleverley too. Villa lost their entire spine in the summer and their transfer committee replaced them with inexperienced kids from France. Picking up points over Christmas against fellow relegation rivals Norwich and Sunderland would have given Villa a fighting chance but after two defeats Villa sit 11 points adrift of safety. Remi Garde has targeted 10 wins from their remaining 18 league games. Villa haven’t won a single game in their last 18.

Rather than entertaining hopes of Champions League qualification form between now and May it would be wise for the corridors of power at Villa Park to prepare for life in the Championship. It has been made clear in the past few days that Remi Garde will not resign and will be given the chance to achieve promotion at the first time of asking. Between now and then Garde should be given opportunity to work out exactly what he will need to get the club promoted, which of the high earners will be offloaded, which players are cut out for Championship football and how much Randy Lerner will set aside to reassemble a squad capable of an immediate challenge for promotion.

Owner Randy Lerner has been looking for a buyer for the club for over two years. Quite how much commitment he would have to the promotion push remains to be seen; immediate promotion would reverse the depreciating value of his asset and he’d likely get a better price should they be a Premier League club at the start of the 17/18 season but after years of looking for a buyer the American tycoon may decide to cut his losses. If the club are sold on the back of relegation fans will hope for a mass cull at executive level. In addition to Lerner, CEO Tom Fox and head of recruitment Paddy Reilly have borne the brunt of the fans frustrations. Fox has this week been talking of the vast commercial strides made by the club regarding foreign marketing and kit deals, confirmation in supporters minds of the incompetence of their Chief Executive. Meanwhile, unless major changes are made to the recruitment structure, Paddy Reilly will front the club’s transfer policy in the summer. After last summer’s failings Villa fans will be hoping for a quick sale and an infrastructure overhaul.