I remember them being above mid table but after they beat Tottenham theyre now fourth and only 2 points off the top of the league. That means that if they didn’t lose to Nottingham forest or Everton they would be first. Ik they really haven’t had difficult match ups but it’s still very impressive.
Completely agree yeah that this is better than the previous situation. I don’t see it as so much better that they will sustainably challenge for Europe.
The main point I made is that holding on to those talents is incredibly difficult. They will push for a move away, as has happened every time. The reason I bring up Brighton was their example that they know their stars won’t stay for the long-term, just as Villa’s won’t. Or West Ham. Or Brentford (who basically took Brighton’s strats) and other mid-table clubs and also went from lower league to stable Prem. What they do so well is finding the talents to replace them. They brought through Maupay and Watkins (to Villa) and then Toney, selling each for a major profit on their way up the leagues (assuming Toney goes to Arsenal as expected) and have a ready replacement at similar or better level ready with that money. Brighton and Brentford are SO much better than practically everyone else at finding the next player.
Villa, with all due respect, aren’t. Grealish again is a useful barometer here. For his 100m, Villa bought Danny Ings the slightly above overage player), Beundia, Bailey, and Digne. With all due respect, fair to say none of those are top half material right now. And then later Coutinho (again, overage player with no resale value). Maybe Diaby and Torres are different this season. But they’re an investment on top of that.
Would agree Villa are a much better run club than many. Wouldn’t agree that they will sustainably be challenging for the top 6 tho.