Mitrovic, Seri, Anguissa and Fabri

[ALG01]

I have no data to back this up, but I think that the "buy a whole" new team approach is flawed for a number of reasons.
I think it could comfortably be argued that if (and I know the full backs had gone who were key) we had played the same team as per Play Off final, then would we have done quite so badly?
The team wouldn't have needed quite so much initial direction and tweaking. Language not such an issue (as it was apparently). Development of cliques not an issue and a huge demoralisation of your former team (that got you there in the first place).

Villa are a comparable club this season, struggling compared to say Sheff Utd who kept the core of their promoted side. I believe Newcastle didn't spend a whole load last time they went up and they're still there.

The other thing is that sometimes, even if sides keep their team together for the higher division, sometimes they're just not quite good enough-Norwich? I genuinely think our side under SJ was good enough to finish above the one that we ended up playing.

The big issue was that we didn't just get too many new players, we got the wrong new players. Unless you have proffesionals in charge of team matters you end up with what we have had in recent seasons. Slav was the best thing the Khans did but they constructed things in such a way that they managed to let him slip through our fingers. I know if he would have been retained we would have had a massively better chance of survival. we still do not have an entirely rational method of managing team matters.