Aston Villa hierarchy have delusions of grandeur over sizing Europe

Aston Villa, 125/1 outsiders with Coral for a top six finish this term, are to target challenging for European football within three years, according to an ambitious statement from CEO Tom Fox.

Such designs, given the club’s current place in mid-table mediocrity, may seem laughable to punters, pundits and fans of the West Midlands outfit at present, but this is what greets them as football turns festive.

“We should be finishing seventh or eighth consistently,” said Fox during an in-depth interview. “We should be competing consistently up there for a place in Europe, and putting us within touching distance of the larger clubs. And I don’t think that takes four years.”

Commentators and supporters alike may be forgiven for being skeptical, though. It is, after all, one thing to talk big and make grand plans, and quite another to undertake and see them through.

“What I’ve communicated to our owner Randy Lerner is that this club can be seventh or eighth in terms of revenue,” continued Fox. “I think it will take three years to put ourselves in a better position than we are now. We don’t have to wait that long to determine whether we’ve been successful against where we want to be.”

So, overnight success is not expected of Paul Lambert, though improvement is the obvious target. It’s a good thing Villa’s board don’t expect too much too soon, because his squad, the joint-lowest Premier League scorers with 10, looks pretty threadbare in places ahead of a Second City derby at West Bromwich Albion. The visitors are 11/4 to win.

One big question this proposed push for Europe poses is will we see a return to the exorbitant spending of the Martin O’Neill era? Lerner has really reined in splashing the cash in recent years, and there is no indication he has stopped looking for a buyer. Villa’s summer transfer policy is compelling evidence.

Whether Lerner will put his hand in his pocket once more is not something fellow American Fox has answered directly, however. Nor did he move to scotch continuing speculation that key players in the Villa spine, namely captain Ron Vlaar, midfielder Fabian Delph and star striker Christian Benteke, would be sold.