Tony Twitter, It's Time To Show Faith In Steve

DR Tony Xia had no sooner completed his £60m purchase of Aston Villa than he came out with a boast that would have embarrassed Floyd Mayweather.

- Chris Dunlavy

“My ambition is to bring Villa to the top six in less than five years,” said the man not-so-affectionately dubbed ‘Tony Twitter’ by fans. “And I hope it can be one of the top three in the world, even the best well known in the world in less than ten years.”

How idiotic those words look now. After a season rarely better than abject, Villa are on course to become the most well-known club in League One.

An exaggeration? Not on current form. Since Robbie Williams warbled in the New Year, Steve Bruce’s highly-paid flops have won just a solitary point. With the exception of Leicester, no team in England has a more pitiful record.

Hostility

No win in eight games. No clean sheets. Hostility from the stands. It’s all a far cry from the formative days of Bruce’s reign, when an unbeaten seven-match run reignited hope of a play-off push.

Now? That run looks more like an anomaly than the norm. Villa’s average position in the Championship this season is 14th, outrageous for a side with the second-highest wage bill in the division.