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Aston Villa owner Tony Xia has offered some very personal words of encouragement to every Aston Villa supporter this afternoon. Whilst Xia has been rather quiet in the following days of Aston Villa’s loss to Fulham in the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final, it seems a good bit of business to make sure the ownership and supporters are on the very same page in the very same book. While the statement itself is rather black and white, there are a few musings and anecdotes that may see some supporters wildly panicking or passionately cheering.
Tony Xia’s Statement and Our Breakdown
“Indeed, the loss is a pity, but we know how much effort and hard work our coaching staff and players put in this season. I want to thank Steve from the bottom of my heart, particularly for his remarkable level of professional focus despite losing his parents this year. With that, I would like to say thank you to Steve and his coaching staff once again for leading the team forward wholeheartedly throughout the season.”
Tony Xia seems to be noting that Steve Bruce is definitely the Aston Villa manager going forward. I couldn’t imagine Dr. Tony giving Bruce praise and appreciation, then sack him in the next coming weeks. It is also worth noting that Xia expressed sympathy for Steve Bruce within regards to his personal life.
“Under the current circumstances, I think the club needs to rethink not only the past two years but also the past ten years. Villa needs to be a sustainable football club. People join. People leave. That is the cycle of football. But the football club always remains through it all. This is the ultimate reality that cannot be changed, but I can assure you that everyone behind the scenes is working tirelessly towards achieving our ultimate goal.”
This was one instance where you could hear the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ of the statement really come to life. What does he mean, “people join, people leave”? Obviously Aston Villa has a great number of loan-in players who will not be returning for one reason or another. But, with all of the media speculation surrounding the sale of Jack Grealish, the wording by Xia comes off as a cryptic precursor that Grealish may in fact be sold to make sure the club itself doesn’t capsize to Financial Fair Play rules and regulations.
“No matter what the changes will be, I sincerely hope that everyone can unite and overcome the challenges together. Our goal has not changed and as long as we believe, regardless of how tough the process will be, I am sure we will succeed in the end.”
Dr. Tony Xia had to make a statement one way or another. Opinions on how Aston Villa will get out of their financial mess are wide and far, but it definitely sounds like the chairman is being backed into a corner with how he is going to deal with this situation. It could be just a call for Aston Villa supporters so unify and be mindful that change is coming. It could also be a very cryptic warning that things are going to look very different a lot quicker than any of us imagined.
Words by Mark Jirobe (@VillaMarkPGH) // Follow us on Twitter @claretandview
