Friday Feedback: Making Aston Villa Exciting Again

Well, eight matches into the season and it's confirmed: Aston Villa are as boring as they were last year. I really, honestly, don't mind cheering for a bad team. But a boring one? Good lord. What's the point of even following? Sports is supposed to be fun, it's supposed to entertain us. Aston Villa hasn't done that.

So this week, we take a look at what it would take for Aston Villa to become interesting again. As always, our answers are below and we hope to find yours in the comments below!

This week's question: Aston Villa is boring lately, what one thing (within the realm of reality) would make it most exciting for you? Note: this does not nevessarily have to be be good exciting.

Aaron: A run of good form would clearly be number one, but that's boring and not in the spirit of the question. So, I will go with a big but intelligent signing or two in the January window. I think everyone agrees that the big needs are a creative midfielder and a winger, and given what we saw from Lambert during the summer window I trust that he'd be able to find some really talented players at those positions. I have plenty of names I'd love to see, but more importantly it just needs to be players that address the issue without reeking of panic. Panic moves might address the issue in the short term, but they have a lot of potential to come back and bite you in the end. (Hi Darren!)

Gareth: For whatever reason, I'm feeling less pragmatic than Aaron this week and I'll just take an exciting match. Preferably a shootout, with tons of goals, that makes Aston Villa more than a depressing irrelevance for a weekend at least. While I'd be ecstatic if this came against a big team like Manchesters City or United in November, it's more important for morale's sake that it happens at Villa Park.

Matt: Excitement, huh?

Step 1: Bring Hutton back into the squad for one match.
Step 2: Acquire hallucinogenic drugs
Step 3: Said drugs go into Hutton's favored sports drink.

Done. Guaranteed to be the most exciting match of the season.

Kirsten: I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate going after Matt. He has wisdom beyond his years.

January is a long time away, it seems. In the next two months, I'd just like to see something different. I thought PL was all about the squad rotation, but what he's rotating is Darren Bent and Christian Benteke. Other than that, over the last three matches, the only changes have been due to injury: Stephen Ireland for Marc Albrighton, Nathan Baker for Ciaran Clark. Results? One stinking point. If it ain't broke, don't fix it -- so in this case, why not break it to pieces and see if something gets fixed?

(This is a radical departure from my usual "these boys need time to develop as a unit" attitude. Perhaps because I am bitter at this team).

Robert: Gareth's idea is obviously the most pleasant, but a Darren Bent blowup would probably be the most exciting thing that could happen to this team. Look at the skill level there. We could see a great match or two, but that won't sustain our interest. How long did the high after the Manchester City match last? A week?

But a Darren Bent blowup? That could be interesting for... heck, I don't know. A month! And that's a lot these days. We've already got everything there for a Bent drama session. He's phenomenally talented, and alternates between being disfavored by fans (and Lambert) and being in their favor but getting absolutely nothing that he can turn into a goal. The man has to be near the breaking point, and his could be the story that drives Aston Villa news. Plus, there's the question of what would happen to him in the transfer window!

Yeah, it would kind of suck. But you can't deny it, a Darren Bent meltdown has the potential to be riveting.

Andrew: I agree with Aaron but how are we going to make it to January? At this rate we'll all be dead. Maybe Lambert should try three at the back. It worked so well for Mancini this week.