Former Aston Villa and Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish predicts that Villa will be in the top six of the Championship this season
Only two men in history have managed both Birmingham City and Aston Villa, Ron Saunders in the 1970’s and 80’s and of course more recently Alex McLeish. This gives McLeish a unique view on the states of both clubs and this summer he used that unique view to predict that Villa will finish ahead of Birmingham City and will wind up in the top six of the league.
McLeish crossed the divide to Aston Villa in 2011 after four years at Birmingham and as he told Sky Sports, his heart is still with the Blues but his head is on the other side of the Second City Derby with Aston Villa.
McLeish on where Aston Villa will finish:
"“It would be great to see that battle between the two of them, and those getting in there. My heart strings for the Blues having spent more time there, and I would like to see them get in the top six. The probability is that Villa have the better chance of being in that top six, but there are no guarantees in this Championship. You cannot predict a result from week to week. It’s so unpredictable.”"
Last season Villa was firmly mid-table after some early season struggles while City escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth thanks to some last-ditch heroics from manager Harry Redknapp.
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Redknapp is eyeing promotion as well and has strengthened his side with some Championship veterans like David Stockdale and Marc Roberts but his incoming transfers do not have nearly the star power that Aston Villa’s do. Stockdale is a nice signing for the Blues but to put it simply he is no John Terry.
Both clubs have used the summer transfer window wisely to reload and prepare for a promotion but any objective observer can see that Villa has done better in the market. The Villans are still lacking in offensive firepower but the additions of Terry and Ahmed Elmohamedy should help improve an already stingy defense that gave up only 48 goals in the Championship last season.
Keeping goals out was not the issue but scoring them was so Steve Bruce will be hoping for his defensive signings to contribute some goals, and Terry being the highest-scoring defender in Premier League history is a prime candidate to do so.
Next: Aston Villa CEO on why Steve Bruce wants experienced players
As McLeish said, the Championship is incredibly unpredictable but the current squad and manager at Villa Park should be enough to proper Aston Villa in to the promotion battle this coming season.