second best - second nothing

"We seem to have settled for second best, and that's what we are by comparison with the leading group".

So, your starter for ten: Who is quoted making the statement above? Alan Sugar? Martin O'Neill? A Liverpool fan, tired of inferiority with the Mancs? Well, obviously it must be something to do with the Villa since I'm writing this for H&V. So, maybe it's a quote from a previous issue of this august organ? Or from Andy Gray (during his heyday in the late-seventies and prior to his defection to the land of milk and honey in the Black Country…ahem!)? Or from a disgruntled shareholder, still counting the cost of having ploughed his hard-earned and loyal money into the plc?

Actually it's a quote from Gareth Southgate in an interview for the Sunday Times (March 5th 2000). Interesting! Now, don't get me wrong: I'm not about to blast our captain for unfaithful and heretical remarks, particularly since the article was actually a complimentary one, of both Gareth and the club.

The article was indeed surprising; not just because it was even penned in the first place - Villa are not the most written-about club and the national press do not spend much time waxing lyrical about the comings and goings or the tittle-tattle around Bodymoor Heath. It was surprising for its warmth towards the Villa and for its favourable view of our captain. But most surprising was its candour.

In an article the main theme of which was Southgate's strengths and hopes as a candidate to be the next England captain, a significant part dealt with the current state of affairs at Villa Park (Now, I'm not sure whether Southgate should even merit a place in the England team; much as I rate his defensive qualities his ball distribution is crap at times. But I'm certain that he would make a fine captain of the national side - compare and contrast his personality and lifestyle with that of a Beckham

or Collymore, or his post-match comments with those of Shearer or Adams, and you'll understand that he has the personal attributes to captain his country. But that is not the point).

Much of the article dealing with life at the Villa in the opening months of the new millennium was positive and recognised the progress that has been made in the last 14 weeks. JG has found the right formula in terms of motivation, team selection and squad management. The team has at last benefited from the experience and individual skills brought to it by the likes of Merse, Boateng and Stone. Southgate reflects on the positive effect of having Dion Dublin and David James in the dressing room, players who are prepared to speak out constructively and air their views positively.

It is clear, however, that the same old issue lurks behind everything that goes on at the club: there is a lingering sense of stunted ambition; of people leading the club whose horizons are set firmly in the middle-distance, rather than on the long-perspective ambitions of a club determined to succeed at the very highest level. The opening quote brings us back to this point and it has been discussed countless times before: what is the real aspiration of the club and of HDE; and how can the club's ambitions match our expectations as fans?

Allow me to share a little more of Southgate's interview with you: 'Villa's captain needed no reminding that they had won the European Cup in 1982. "You won't find too many photos of that around here," he said. Why not? "Because the chairman wasn't here then". '

And in this second chunk - from a national newspaper, mark you - you find the nub of the predicament. The chairman has a problem about the club's greatest achievement. And so, borrowing from the best exponents of absolute rulers, he has re-written history. Now I know that this has been oft-highlighted in H&V but it bears repeating, particularly when our current club captain makes reference to it so publicly. To his credit, Southgate explains the significance of an event with which he had little personal attachment. He says, continuing on from the second chunk of the article: "I've got a picture of that team above my peg in the dressing room, and it's the only one you'll see here. It's there because that's what we've got to aim for. Until we achieve that or until I retire, I won't settle. It has to be the ultimate goal."

Now I don't know about you, but several emotions swirled through my mind when I read this. Firstly, I was really incensed that such an important event was being given such short shrift from Doug - the man charged with leading the Greatest Club in the World. How dare he belittle the ultimate achievement and in so doing sell the club short to prospective players, fans and investors! And I was also embarrassed that the national press had once again exposed Ellis for the charlatan he is.

Secondly, I felt immensely proud to have Gareth Southgate as our captain. In an age when player loyalty is at a massive premium, he has sought motivation, ambition and inspiration from the deeds of those who were there before him. He who, as I said earlier, presumably had little emotional affinity with Villa prior to his arrival, has taken on board all the historical landmarks that make the club what is it for us, the fans. He has flown in the face of the chairman who would have us all forget what happened during the interregnum (as he would see it). And he has also publicly committed to continuing the fight for the best for Aston Villa. Thirdly, I felt resolved to continue arguing for the complete revamping of the club. I have written in other issues of H&V about the need for a true Leader - someone with the relevant business skills, combined with the personal attributes and 'soul' to integrate seamlessly with players and fans alike. I have also written about the need for us, the fans, to display our commitment and 'soul' by more vociferously demonstrating against poor service, poor treatment of the paying public and the diminution of the history and heritage of the Club by the people purporting to run it. Reading Gareth Southgate earnestly expressing his commitment to putting Villa back on top of the pile should be a motivation to us all.

JG has done a great job recently of turning things around on the pitch (and I may be forced to eat large slices of humble pie, critical as I have been of him) and there is no doubting that the players have been hugely lifted by their recent success. Furthermore, our transfer activity has a much more confident and forward-looking feel to it than it has done over the last couple of years. Whatever the result of our FA Cup odyssey the season should finish on a far better note than many predicted.

But what are the hopes and ambitions of this club ? Do our player-management approach, transfer activity, community-liaison strategy, stadium- management strategy, commercial approach and customer-service ethos reflect the depth of our aspirations? Are we seeking excellence in all of these aspects of the club's activities and do we have in place the best possible personnel to capitalize on the opportunities that each of these areas offers us?

Or are we the same as the other eighteen Premiership clubs whose name does not begin with the letters MAN (and end with URE): we say we want to be in the (misnamed but lucrative) Champions League year in, year out but in reality would be content with a cup win and a decent run in Europe? Is it to be the Southgate model or the Ellis approach?

David Evans.