Aston Villa’s board will have crisis talks on Monday with owner Randy Lerner under pressure to save the club’s season from further embarrassment.
Tom Fox, the chief executive, and sporting director Hendrik Almstadt are flying out to meet Lerner in New York and will attempt to convince the Villa owner that significant funds are required this month.
Rémi Garde, the Villa manager, is growing increasingly frustrated and demanding new signings after yet another bleak afternoon, with his team stumbling to a draw with League Two club Wycombe Wanderers. Garde was abused by some supporters as he left Adams Park and the Frenchman is understood to be unhappy that he is being judged on signings that were made before his appointment.
Garde has abuse hurled at him
Villa’s players were also abused as they boarded the bus and it has emerged that Micah Richards’ interaction with supporters was sparked by the behaviour of unused substitutes Brad Guzan and Joleon Lescott.
Eyewitnesses claim the pair were involved in a bizarre game in which they were attempting to spit chewing gum the furthest, with Villa supporters incensed by the actions of two of the clubs most senior players. Richards attempted to appease the fans but it was the latest sorry episode in a miserable season.
Garde also delivered a damning assessment of Villa’s frailties after the game by admitting there was little difference in quality between the two squads, even though Villa spent over £50 million in the summer.
And Fox and Almstadt will underline the problems to Lerner later on Monday and are hopeful of persuading him to provide cash to shake up a squad which remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League.
Villa face Crystal Palace on Tuesday evening and Garde has admitted new signings are imperative. "It's important and I hope I will achieve that, I don't know yet. I'm still happy about the team, I'm still believing they are trying to do their best but at some point you have to recognise that if they are doing their best and we are still not winning then there is a problem,” he said.
Micah Richards is congratulated after putting Aston Villa ahead in the first half
“Against Wycombe I didn't see enough difference between the two squads. I've got a lot of respect for Wycombe, especially after the game, but then we have to question ourselves and wonder why we didn't win.
“As a manager I've never been involved in this kind of situation. [But] in the 35 years I've spent in football I have had to come through this situation before.”
Wycombe were humbled by Morecambe in their previous game but fully deserved their replay, enhancing the reputation of manager Gareth Ainsworth who has built his team on a shoestring.
While Villa’s highly paid players struggled, Wycombe’s performance was epitomised by the likes of defender Aaron Pierre – rejected by Fulham and Brentford – and goalscorer Joe Jacobson, a journeyman in the lower leagues since leaving Cardiff.
Joe Jacobson converts from the spot to earn Wycombe a replay at Villa Park
Michael Harriman, signed from Queens Park Rangers last week for a “nominal fee”, is the only player to have cost any money in Ainsworth’s squad.
And Wycombe only need to use the likes of Bradford, Sheffield United and Leyton Orient as inspiration after Villa’s recent struggles against lower league opposition.
Ainsworth said: “It’s tough for Villa, I've been down there. We're not going to wait for them to start smiling, we're going to take our chances.
“It was a really difficult game to scout because in the last 12 games they've changed formation or personnel 10 times. You don't come across that too often.
“We can thrive on the atmosphere at Villa Park if it’s frosty. We don't know when we're beaten, we never lie down and accept we are beaten and I’m sure we'll be taking a lot of Wycombe fans up there and looking forward to this one.”
Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth celebrates his side's equaliser at Adams Park
Villa had controlled the first half, taking the lead through Micah Richards’s simple finish, but their confidence visibly drained when Jacobson equalised from the spot.
And as a draw became inevitable, Villa’s fans turned on the players and Garde as the air turned mutinous. Richards was involved in a confrontation with fans and players were abused as they boarded the team bus.
Alex Lynch, the Wycombe goalkeeper, said: “You try and blank things out but we are all human and I can hear what they said during the game.
“You could see them getting agitated and I thought it could work in our favour. In the end it did work in our favour and they got on their players' backs.
“When we go there perhaps it will become a bit hostile for them and if their fans get a bit impatient or anything like that it will probably work in our favour.”
0 nhận xét:
Đăng nhận xét