Sadly the last few seasons Villa have had a lot of luck go their way and i think avoiding the drop as they did will be the springboard for them to kick on.
A couple of years ago they were on the verge of being on their knees and having to sell Grealish, then at the last minute they were bailed out by a couple of billionaires.
When they went up they went on a freak run of form which only happens once every 100 years and got in the playoffs and went up, they had the momentum, thats what the play offs is all about.
Last season, the goal that never was played a big part in keeping them up, yes they may of been unlucky with some decisions in other parts of the season, yes had that goal gone in it may of changed how they approached the game, but the fact remains that i think for the first time in its history in this country, goal line technology failed and the only team that benefitted were Villa.
If they were to of gone down they would of been in a right mess and having to sell players, however they survived and they seem to of learnt there lesson.
Their owners are not billionaires by luck, they are astute business people who are top of their game and learn from their mistakes, they dont seem reckless either, they have Bruce a chance when they took over and they stuck with Smith last season when the locals had started to turn in numbers.
They have now got what seems a good recruitment team in place, got experience in with the coaching (whether Smith sees the season to benefit we will see) but i expect them to make some steady signings and build and move up the table, in the years to come they certainly have the owners with big pockets who can break into the top 6 but thats a long way down the line, i imagine their aim will be top 8 over the next few seasons with a couple of good cup runs and then reassess.
The time for them to be in the **** has now been and gone i think.
