Football Season Guide

It has been a traumatic summer for Aston Villa and their boss Steve Bruce. Villa were so close, yet so far, away from promotion back to the Premier League last term. They reached the Championship play-off final but ultimately found Fulham too tough to get past and now must spend a third season in the second tier. The defeat has hit them hard though with the effects particularly harsh on their finances with a decrease in parachute payments leading them into FFP woe. They have already got rid of backroom staff including Steve Round and chief executive Keith Wyness has been suspended as chief executive. There have also been talk of a possible takeover in a bid to sort out fresh investment. All that means it has been a bleak time in the transfer market for Steve Bruce, who appears to have committed his future to the club. Jack Grealish seems certain to leave with Villa wanting upwards of £20 million while they have also turned down £5 million for James Chester. A series of loan players including the impressive Sam Johnstone, Robert Snodgrass and Lewis Grabban have also departed. All this means that optimism is in short supply but in Bruce they have one of the best Championship managers, someone who is well capable of steering a rocky ship. Investment with a takeover to come at last arrived in late July but that has so far only seen Andre Moreira, a goalkeeper, arrive and Villa seem rather undercooked.